Panel says politicians sending mixed messages

By Sarah Anderson
NLGJA Reporter Staff

Although George W. Bush appears to send a straightforward message opposing same-sex marriage, panelists in Friday morning’s plenary said they feel the president is more tolerant than he suggests.

“There is closet tolerance in this White House, and I’m sure a lot of you would like to see them take a position on one side or the other so you’d have some clarity,” CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts said.

The session, Asking and Telling: How the LGBT Debate Is Changing Politics, featured Time magazine columnist Margaret Carlson, Dave Sirulnick, MTV’s vice president of news and production, and Roberts, who filled in for CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather, who was sent to Iraq

The panelists tried to dissect the political motives behind the mixed messages sent by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and presumed Democratic nominee John Kerry.

Cheney said in a 2000 debate that he supported civil unions, a stance that incurred the wrath of the Republican base. But Carlson suggested his support of a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a strictly heterosexual institution may be straining the relationship with his openly gay daughter, Mary.

“His love of his daughter is not strong against the thought that maybe they’re going to lose Colorado or one of those swing states,” she said.

Democratic politicians also remain lukewarm on many LGBT issues, occupying the middle ground that Carlson said most Americans identify with.

“They want to do more but can’t get there and get elected – or so they think,” Carlson said. “They want to be where they can be and get elected, so they may look like cowards, and they may look wishy-washy.”

But that stance comes off as contradictory when Kerry states in back-to-back answers that he does not support same-sex marriage but believes homosexuality is innate, Sirulnick said.

“That says, ‘I kind of know where I want to go, but I’m playing politics here,’ ” he said. “For our viewers, it is a point of confusion, not unlike some of his other positions.”