Gore Endorses Gay Marriage

Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed gay marriage saying:

"I think it's wrong for the government to discriminate against people because of that person's sexual orientation. I think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women -- to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage to allow it by gays and lesbians." (More details).

May the religious nuts who oppose gay marriage lose many, many nights of sleep over this statement. :-)

A Pleasure to Watch

The last two Democratic presidential debates were a pleasure to watch. The candidates were all articulate, intelligent, and well-informed. There were even flashes of humor. I still think John Edwards is the best candidate, but Obama is the future of the party and I would have no problem supporting him.

I still have reservations about Hillary (I use her first name to distinguish between her and her husband, the former President; I don't use her first name to patronize or to be disrespectful). To her credit, I think she has been a more effective Senator than either Edwards or Obama.

Isn't it wonderful to have choices? So many countries do not.

Historic Firsts in Our Presidential Candidates

This year's presidential race has many historic firsts by the candidates. For the first time, we have a Presidential candidate who is:

- Female (Hillary)
- African-American (Obama)
- Latino (Richardson)
- Mormon (Romney)

That Obama and Hillary are the candidates to beat for the Democratic Presidential nomination shows how far this country has progressed.

The Presidential Race

Tonight, Iowa kicks off the first in a series of state presidential nominating contests. The Republican candidates are all lackluster. Mitt Romney could debate himself, he has changed his positions on so many issues. That's unfortunate, because he was probably the best of the Republicans.

Last election, I voted for John Edwards, but I doubt he has the charisma to win. Obama is too inexperienced, but I would love to see him run again. Like Edwards, Obama has an optimism that I like. Hillary is too much like Mitt Romney, drifting with the winds of public opinion. The other two serious candidates, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd, are both well qualified but I have been unable to find much info about them. I had emailed the Richardson campaign a question, never received a reply, but have duly been added to their email (spam!) list.

From my perspective, any of the Democrats would be an improvement over the current occupant. Several of the Republicans (Romney, McCain) would also probably be an improvement. When you've hit rock bottom, then improvement is easy.