Obama snub still rankles Newsom-- (O didn't want to pose with him over gay issue)

[Gloria]

Four years ago he was already doing his dance with gays....as reported by fmr. mayor Willie Brown....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/05/BAM5US1B5.DTL&type=politics

snip first Paragraph...

But just four years ago, current Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is said to have declined to have his picture taken in San Francisco with Newsom, who was then at the center of a national uproar over his decision to allow same-sex marriage in San Francisco.

"I gave a fundraiser, at his (Obama's) request at the Waterfront restaurant," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. "And he said to me, he would really appreciate it if he didn't get his photo taken with my mayor. He said he would really not like to have his picture taken with Gavin."

snip

In fact, early last year, Newsom alluded to the incident in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking to Reuters on Jan. 26, 2007, Newsom was asked about three potential Democratic candidates: Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore.

snip

"One of the three Democrats you mentioned as presidential candidates, as God is my witness, will not be photographed with me, will not be in the same room with me," Newsom told Reuters, "even though I've done fundraisers for that particular person - not once, but twice - because of this issue."

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[UALRBSofL]

1. Gloria, It's an image issue for Obama

That said, I believe Hillary has posed with him in a photo. What else can you say?

[Gloria]

10. Too much image...which then seems cowardly, insincere, and untrustworthy....

and, yes, Hillary did pose for him and Bill spoke at an for him.

[terrya]

2. Truth be told, I'd be rankled, too.

Particularly if I gave a fundraiser for him.

But Newsom was then at the very forefront of same-sex marriage equality, so I guess Obama didn't want to be even indirectly associated with that. Whatever.

[oasis]

3. More of Obama's "superior judegement" on display. He runs away from gay issues

faster than he runs away from his middle name.

[saracat]

4. And this is the guy we can imagine as a Democratic Nominee? Disgraceful.

[SIMPLYB1980]

5. Not surprised are you.

[jgraz]

6. Obama sucks on this issue, plain and simple

He's not a perfect candidate by any means. My support of him is with the expectation that we will continue to challenge him on this and other areas where he's bought the right-wing line.

Getting a Dem in the White House is where the work STARTS. I just happen to think that work will be a bit easier with Obama and the larger Dem majority that comes with him.

[Occam Bandage]

7. I would like to see Obama give an explanation for this. His LGBT policies are very good,

but his failure to be photographed with Newsom is disappointing.

[SIMPLYB1980]

9. Failure my ass. He shunned the guy like he had the plague.

[AtomicKitten]

11. Many here in SF think Newsom is a tool.

Plus he's an HRC supporter.

I assure you not wanting to be photographed with him has nothing to do with the LGBT community.
It is being used gratuitously as a cudgel.

[Gloria]

14. If you read the article, it raises the issue that perhaps he supports

Clinton precisely because Obama dissed him....wouldn't that be sort of natural??

Again, the event was 4 years ago, when he was running for Senate..when he wasn't supposed to be planning to run, according to what he says in that video that you will be seeing ad nauseum in the general election. You know, the one where he says he's not the type of person to run because he doesn't know enough at that point??

Take off the blinders....

[AtomicKitten]

18. Gee, maybe it has nothing to do with Newsom and underage girlfriends drinking?

Ya know, splashed across the front page of newspapers. Oh, yeah, and his affairs and sloppy divorce.

Your blind support is precious.

[grantcart]

25. I don't know something just doesn't add up on this - not taking a picture with a mayor?

And why does Brown keep bringing this up over and over again?

[Coexist]

8. the man had an affair with his campaign manager's wife and dated a 19yo

who was photographed at an event while they were dating, with a glass of wine.

Maybe its Newsom, and not the Gay Marriage issue, that Obama is trying to stay away from.

A photo with a wildcard like that could be bad later - what will he do next?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/31/BAGM3NSFGQ7.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/15/MNR.TMP

[Gloria]

12. Obama dissed Newsom 4 YEARS AGO, as Willie Brown reports...

The affair was a year and a half ago...as he was getting divorced. So, your timeline is not correct. Plus, if he, as you suggest, wanted to avoid a "wildcard" way back in 2004, then he must have already been planning something beyond just getting into the Senate...which, is not what he said in the video about his not being interested in running because he didn't know enough!! Why are you feeding off this crap he is dishing out???

"Rippey-Tourk, 34, was the mayor's appointments secretary from the start of his administration in 2004 until last spring. She told her husband that the affair with Newsom was short-lived and happened about a year and a half ago, while the mayor was undergoing a divorce from his then-wife, Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, said the sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified.

[anigbrowl]

19. The affair 2.5 years ago actually...just FYI

You're overlooking the fact that the newspaper story is over a year old, but you are correct that it predates the photo issue.

I think Obama did shy away from Newsom over the gay marriage thing, but so did a lot of people, including John Kerry. Newsom was somewhat politically toxic at the time because he did ride roughshod over state law (which is why it didn't last very long, sadly). There was talk of Newsom being removed from office in some sort of legal showdown, though it was likely not very serious. Also, his relationship with his then-wife started to go south almost immediately after he was elected; she took a job in New York as a TV host and for a few months they supposedly had some kind of coast-to-coast commuting arrangement. This was widely perceived as a joke; at the time, a lot of people speculated that Newsom himself was gay.

Newsom's support in SF after a strongly contested election (that went to a runoff ballot) was fairly bumpy for the first few months of his administration, until he suddenly surprised everyone by enabling gay marriage. While many were delighted (including myself) it was also seen as a political publicity stunt. Obama, planning to campaign for his first senate seat back then, was likely nervous of being associated with a mayor who was regarded as a loose cannon.

Bear in mind that when the GOP starts talking about 'loony liberal left', a mention of San Francisco usually comes in the next sentence.

I quite agree that this was an example of political calculus on Obama's part. I'm just giving a bit more background from someone who lives here.

[Coexist]

22. He was getting divorced - but was she?

and even someone running for reelection to the US Senate would want to avoid photos with controversial figures.

[Metric System]

13. But a friendship with known sleaze-bag Rezko is A-OK.

[KLee]

15. Thank you FLDem, for the voice of reason....

I am really tired of the spin on this stuff. Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, there may be another reason?

Instead of trying to find out those reasons for fact, we take fact from a story of spin.

[Gloria]

16. As Willie Brown says, "Why would he make it up?" (sic)

There's no spin. This is what happened. Face up to reality. For once, start looking at this manipulator for what he is.

[anigbrowl]

20. Have you met Willie Brown?

I have, several times. I like him, but he's a politician to his fingertips - if he told me it was raining, I'd put my head out the window to check, and he loves attention.

[southern_dem]

17. As anyone actually asked Obama about the reason

or is it just more fun to get upset about it and jump to conclusions? I praise Newsome for his postions, but probably wouldn't want to actually meet him because he seems like an *ss.

[avrdream]

26. No, Barry has shown his true colors with the Donnie incident.

Nothing to do with who Gavin may have been dating.

I lived in South Carolina for 16 years and saw first hand a lot of the discrimination against gays by African Americans. It never ceased to amaze me. I believe Barry feels the same way deep down but must "say" the right thing in order to protect his precious votes. Unfortunately, his actions show his true feelings on the matter.

I live in this gay world and I know what my fellow gays are saying. At least 70% of my gay friends support Hillary. It is likely more but that is a conservative estimate.

Just sayin'.

[denem]

27. 'Barry' ? - Freeper Speak

from a person who lists their country as Australia? Who says Just sayin'? Just saying ;)

[rodeodance]

21. it was petty of BO.

[TacticalPeek]

23. K & R

:kick:

[Exultant Democracy]

24. Or he didn't want a pic with the wife fucker. Everyone I know knew he was doing the dirty

well before the news broke, I assume (from the way he campaign has run) that Obama has a few competent people who informed him about who Newsom really is.

[Prism]

28. Good. People forget (or ignore) the kind of damage Newsom did.

I'm sorry, but Newsom is not a gay hero by any stretch of the imagination. In an election year where gay families across the country were facing amendment after amendment to keep their spouses and children legally separated for decades to come, the mayor sat there and made the right-wing's argument for them.

The move came at very little political risk for the mayor. He knew what he was doing wouldn't fly legally. He did it anyway to generate popularity and political capital after a closely contested election. It is, after all, San Francisco. Second, at a time when politicians were out there saying that marriage was in danger because lawless judges and politicians were going to somehow foist gay marriage upon an unwilling nation, Newsom bounced on out and became the poster child for their arguments.

I do not doubt that it was certainly emotionally satisfying for the couples involved. I'll never forget the rush of people to city hall and the joy they experienced during those few short days.

However, 2004 was politically disasterous for gay marriage, and Newsom giving the Right that kind of fodder in no way helped millions of gay families in red, purple, and even some blue states.

In a year where some of us were fighting against our enshrinement as second class citizens in state constitutions across the nation, Newsom flipped us off in a bit of local political grandstanding.

Given that I wouldn't want my picture taken with the man, I'm certainly not going to hold it against Obama.

He is a prime example of what I mean when I say the GLBT community often picks up the emotionally satisfying issue over the politically wise course. Some people were in so much ecstacy over the "courageousness" of a San Francisco mayor who, gasp, supported the gay community, they never bothered to notice the smoking gun or the bleeding foot just below it.