Jun 06, 2008  |  By: KEVIN NAFF  | COMMENTS     

IF LAST WEEKEND’S Democratic National Committee meeting is any indication, Sen. Barack Obama has a long way to go in winning over Sen. Hillary Clinton’s supporters.

The sometimes-raucous meeting resolved the question of how to seat delegations from Michigan and Florida, which were penalized for moving up their primaries in defiance of party rules. The outcome was yet another defeat for Clinton, after she won only a fraction of the delegates she’d hoped for.

Things only got worse for Clinton from there. On Monday, Bill Clinton was back in the headlines after he denounced Vanity Fair reporter Todd Purdum in colorful language for penning a lengthy story he saw as a hit piece. To be sure, there were elements of Purdum’s story that were over the line, including references to Bill Clinton’s physical appearance and to unsubstantiated blogger accusations of extramarital affairs. Then there’s the matter of Purdum’s wife — former Clinton press secretary Dee Dee Myers, making for an obvious conflict of interest in a story that includes multiple anonymous sources. Are we really supposed to believe that Myers wasn’t among them?

But in a style that is newly typical, Clinton overreacted and called Purdum a “scumbag,” not exactly behavior befitting a former president. His response helped to prove Purdum’s point — that Clinton is out of control these days.

As if things weren’t bad enough, Tuesday arrived and with it the news that more and more superdelegates were backing Obama. By early afternoon, the AP was already calling the nomination battle over and declaring Obama the victor, something the rest of us knew after Indiana, if not sooner.

Even after Montana and South Dakota voted and Obama’s victory became official Tuesday night, Clinton declined to concede. In stark contrast to Obama’s soaring and inspirational speech marking a historic first for the country — a major party nominating an African American for president — Clinton seemed determine to wield her “18 million” supporters as a weapon to presumably extract the No. 2 spot on Obama’s ticket. She insisted that we count all the votes — an ironic assertion given her campaign had no battle plan beyond Super Tuesday. But the votes were counted and she placed second.

In short, it wasn’t a good week for Hillary Clinton and certainly not the outcome she — and most of the rest of us — envisioned at the start of this protracted and sometimes exhilarating campaign. And so it’s time to turn to the general election and move past the divisive fight between Obama and Clinton loyalists.

FOR GAY VOTERS, the choice couldn’t be easier: the prospect of Sen. John McCain making appointments to the Supreme Court should be enough to send us all to the voting booth for Obama. McCain’s gay supporters like to point out that he opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment, but don’t forget that he opposes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, expansion of the federal hate crimes bill and repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And he supported his home state of Arizona’s effort to ban not only same-sex marriage, but civil unions and domestic partnerships, too.

One coy appearance on “Ellen” doesn’t wash away the stain of McCain’s anti-gay record. Despite his false claims of support for limited rights for gay couples made on the talk show, McCain has proven that his “straight talking” days are long over. If he can backtrack on his opposition to waterboarding, then voters can’t trust him on anything. 

But that’s not enough for some Hillary supporters. During last week’s DNC meeting, some could be heard chanting McCain’s name. Anecdotally, I’ve come across several gay Hillary supporters so unhappy with the outcome that they plan to either not vote or to back McCain.

This is simply sour grapes of the most self-destructive variety. Hillary’s supporters are understandably upset, but Obama — and the country — needs her 18 million or so votes in November. If securing those votes means Obama has to offer Hillary the vice president slot on the ticket, then so be it. But regardless, it’s critical to bring those voters and donors onboard.

McCain and the Republicans have been quiet — too quiet — in the wake of the California Supreme Court ruling and New York Gov. David Paterson’s decision to recognize out-of-state gay marriages. Don’t be fooled.

“There is no reason to think [gay marriage] ...