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A friend e-mailed me the other day making a fair point: for all the LGBT advocates wondering where our fierce advocate is and why Obama isn't "out there" pushing hard, how do any of us know that? Her point was that no one really knows what goes on behind the scenes in the West Wing. Obama could have had a reception last night and pigeonholed Sen. Webb on Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal and none of us would know about it. He could be making calls from Air Force One, rounding up votes on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as you're reading this.
It's a fair point, and there are a few thoughts I have:
1. Reliance upon insider media to report on the President's activities. For better or worse, advocates, to a large extent, rely on the traditional "insider" media to report on the President's activities. If David Gregory reported that "sources say" the President was lobbying members on ENDA this afternoon, the article would spread quickly and everyone would cheer. Many would treat it as the first time he's ever done so. Members of Congress also sometimes come forward to say "I talked to the President today". It's all treated as affirmation that the White House is working hard, when really, it could just be political- perhaps a staffer is telling David Gregory that just to placate members of an issue constituency. Maybe it's not the first time the President is lobbying. It's hard to tell.
2. Likelihood of increased advocacy closer to a vote. I have noticed that President Snowe and her indecisive colleagues increased their number of visits to the White House the closer we got to a health care vote. That's something you see often as votes go down to the wire. This is also a reliance upon insider media to report the lobbying activities of the White House, but the point is that a portion of the White House's effort on an issue occurs not when the vote is still far off on the horizon, but as it is very close.
3. Public campaigning. The White House works to rally votes by getting out in the public eye on an issue- surrogates appearing on cable TV and Sunday shows, the President holding rallies across the country, giving "major" addresses at large institutions like he did on financial reform the other day, the White House releasing official reports demonstrating this or that, staffers writing blog posts, etc. Aside from the State of the Union address and Sec. Gates/Admiral Mullen's testimony, none of that has been forthcoming on DADT repeal or ENDA, and that's why a lot of folks are frustrated- "where is the same effort that was put into health care by this White House?" is something I hear. Part of this is likely a calculation on whether it's worth it to do all of that and send the President out into the states, along with the usual political calculations.
Realistically, there isn't going to be a full-court press on every issue. But it is a measure of commitment and effort, and there hasn't been the same on LGBT issues.
Overall, it's difficult to discern. On the one hand, the White House can demonstrate its commitment to LGBT issues by getting out there the way it did on health care and the stimulus. On the other, just because it doesn't, that doesn't mean they're twiddling their thumbs, and that's something to keep in mind. But doing so would go a long way towards building back some of the trust this Administration has lost among the LGBT community. It would also go a long way towards rallying people to going all in, calling wavering members on these issues, and getting them done. We, and our large advocacy groups, can't do it all by ourselves- we need a President to lead.
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