Do the Obamas have any gay friends?

[Smashcut]

Like, personal friends. People they had dinner with and were social with before he ran for President. Not people Obama appointed or hired for the campaign.

This came up in another thread and I realized I had never seen or heard of anyone gay that Obama or his wife have a longstanding personal relationship with. Clinton was close with Mixner, Geffen etc. Does Obama have anyone like that?

This is a sincere question. I just realized I couldn't think of anyone who fits that description.

[LuvNewcastle]

1. It's hard to know for sure, unless someone

is acquainted with the Obamas personally. I suspect that they do have gay friends and staff who are gay, but they just aren't as high-profile as Mixner or Geffen.

[yellowcanine]

2. I fail to see why it matters. I mean that sincerely. How many times have we heard, "a lot of my

friends are ............" It has become a joke. Who your friends are doesn't define your bigotry or lack of it.

[closeupready]

8. For people like them, they've moved in professional circles where MANY colleagues would be gay

or lesbian. And so, if it turned out that, today, they have no openly gay or lesbian friends, then it would be suspicious, at least to me, that they had straight friends from those same circles.

But then who am I to judge, I have very, very few heterosexual friends.

[yellowcanine]

9. In general the Obamas have been quite private about their friendships.

Which is probably how their friends prefer it. I see nothing to be gained by trying to find out who their friends are. Chances are you may find some and not others so just what have you learned? Plus it seems very jr highish to me.

[closeupready]

11. Obviously, there isn't a 'correct' view on this, but

I just think knowing about someone's friends and acquaintances tells you certain things about that person, as well. In the same way that background checks are de rigeur for security clearances. If, for example, you knew a white person had no friends of color, you'd maybe suspect that this person was racist on some level - unless, upon further inquiry, you found out that this person lives in Montana or Idaho, which are statistically very white.

[yellowcanine]

12. I think its a fricken waste of time and energy, And as I said - too much like Jr. High School.

[joeybee12]

3. I saw a post somewhere where they didn't...they both don't seem

comfortable around gay people...

[mitchtv]

5. that is apparent

it's like Ungaydar

[yellowcanine]

10. Uh huh. Well that is convincing EVIDENCE. Not so much.

[Dawgs]

4. Why should any of us care?

:shrug:

[donheld]

13. It might explain President Obama's behavior towards us.

[ruggerson]

16. The reason we should care is that both anecdotally AND statistically

(meaning validated by opinion research) people's homophobic attitudes are dramatically lessened when they have a close friendship with a gay person or when a family member is gay.

[EC]

6. They like Brenda Sykes....

anyway they lived in Chicago, so I'm guessing yeah they have gay friends..

[closeupready]

7. Openly and proudly gay? No.

I don't think so.

[dsc]

14. It is a great question

and for the record, it matters in the same way it matters if I have any black friends or hispanic friends. The fact is having gay friends would tend to lead to understanding what it might be like to be gay. To take one for instance. The whole Constance prom thing came up in our lounge and I was able to offer some insight into why she would make such a big deal of being able to go to prom with the person of her choosing. Something a straight person may not have been able to get without my insight.

[mockmonkey]

15. "W"

Before he got "s"elected they talked about all his gay friends. As they say, With friends like that...

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. 338 views. So far, zero gay friends identified.

That says something. I'm not sure *what*. But something.

[TexasObserver]

18. If they did, they don't any more.

Words cannot express my disappointment in him on gay issues.

Action talks. Bullshit walks.

[Imagevision]

19. Do you?