Denial Ain't Just a River in Africa

Okay, so...here we have someone making a "gay" case for George Bush:

Why Bush’s win is a victory for gays

You have to be kidding me, right?

First of all, Bush's statement that he supports the idea of civil unions was made in exactly the same offhanded, spontaneous way that he said the war on terrorism was unwinnable and in which he defined himself as a "war president." (Or when pressed by Diane Sawyer into admitting Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction, he responded, "What's the difference?") It was an unguarded, brief candid glimpse into the inner mind of George W. Bush. I think it's quite possible that George Bush the man is just fine with civil unions.

George W. Bush the president, however, is another story altogether. This is a man who called a news conference -- something he's done far more rarely than any president in modern history -- specifically to announce his support for a Constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. He has publicly vowed to defend the "sanctity of marriage," and repeatedly used the phrase "activist judges." But this author tries to argue that Bush's "stance" on the gay marriage issue is support for civil unions. Hogwash. He tries to say that Bush's official policy was indistinguishable from Kerry's.

There's so much here worthy of debate, but let me just say this: I am not a one-issue voter. The gay marriage thing, while obviously of some importance to me, is not on my front burner. George W. Bush is an economic and diplomatic disaster of catastrophic proportions. I have no doubt that the name George W. Bush will be remembered by historians with a shameful shudder.

Even if their policies were completely switched on this one issue -- say, for argument's sake, that John Kerry ran exactly the same campaign he did but actively supported a gay marriage ban and George W. Bush ran the same campaign he did but was openly in favor of same-sex marriage, I would still have voted for John Kerry.

While thousands are dead and dying in the middle east, here at home our economy has been set adrift on an iceberg in an ever-warming ocean. The problems directly attributable to Bush's administration are legion. Just because he once casually expressed support for civil unions is no reason to celebrate.