Aug 22, 2008  |  By: JENNIFER VANASCO  | COMMENTS     

ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED IN Barack Obama? I know I am.

Maybe, for example, you listened to Obama and John McCain talk about gay marriage on Saturday with Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of the giant, evangelical Saddleback Church, and the host of the first (unofficial) debate between the candidates.

Maybe you heard Obama say, “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now for me as a Christian … it’s also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.”

Maybe you thought, “Even though he says that he favors civil unions so that gay partners can visit each other in the hospital, it doesn’t seem that far from McCain saying that though he also believes marriage is between a man and a woman, ‘that doesn’t mean people can’t enter into legal agreements.’”

Maybe you heard Obama say that America’s greatest moral failing is that it doesn’t take care of the least of its citizens. “That applies to poverty,” he said. “It applies to racism and sexism.”

Does it apply to homophobia? Obama didn’t say.

I heard those things Obama said (and didn’t say) and was disappointed.

When you hear Obama basically say that gay unions aren’t as good as straight ones because God’s not there, because they’re not sacred, it’s easy to wonder whether it matters if you vote for Barack Obama or John McCain.

You might think: It’s six of one, a half-dozen of the other.

Or: John McCain doesn’t seem like such a bad guy.

Or: Obama has very little experience and has proved nothing except that he’s good at running for office. At least with John McCain we know where we stand.

You might think those things — I know I have.

AND YET I’M going to vote for Obama in November — and give money to his campaign now — for one reason: the Supreme Court.
Because here’s what else Obama and McCain said in their discussions with Rick Warren: When asked which of the sitting Supreme Court justices he would not have appointed, Obama named Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia and noted that he voted against the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts.
He does not share their legal views, he said.
McCain, on the other hand, named all the liberal and centrist judges as people he would not have appointed: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens. (It’s interesting that he didn’t name Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the swing vote, who has become fairly consistently gay-positive in his decisions. Maybe McCain missed one.)
McCain also noted that there would likely be vacancies during the next presidential administration.
Indeed.
And that’s why I’m voting for Barack Obama.
Having a friendly Supreme Court is crucial to safeguarding our civil rights; there is nothing more important. A president serves for eight years. A Supreme Court appointment can influence American law for decades. A Supreme Court can rule that gays and lesbians are worthy of dignity and respect under the law or that gay rights are “special rights” and we are not entitled to them.

OBAMA IS THE candidate most
likely to choose men and women who are progressive thinkers — or who at least do not leap backward in disgust when faced with the concept of gay couples marrying or lesbians serving in the military.
A McCain administration wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to gays and lesbians. An Obama administration wouldn’t be the best.
Yet when considered through the lens of possible Supreme Court appointments, the choice is stark. In the long term, an Obama appointment could secure the safety of our families and our employment.
A McCain appointment could be disastrous.
Of course, it’s always a bit of a gamble. Democratic presidents have been surprised when their appointed justices vote more conservatively than they were expecting, and vice versa.
So yes, I’m disappointed in Barack Obama. He does not seem to walk in solidarity with us; he does not think we are his equal.
But I’m taking the long view.