You Be a Man!

Full disclosure...

I love Bill Maher. I do. Don't ask me why. I think it has to do with his mix of reverent irreverence, his totally transparent shadiness, his brilliance, and yes, I love a man who has a thing for Black girls. Sue me on that last one.

His show this week took President Obama to task, for real. Maher accused the President of not having the stones, the chutzpah if you will, to do what needs to be done for the country, i.e. civil rights for Gay Americans, legalizing marijuana, telling the banks that they can't have anymore money and ending the war. These are all things that Bill Maher thinks should be done and done pronto. He even said, much to his own chagrin, that he wishes that Obama would be more like Bush. A good old cowboy who would run roughshod over congress and the Constitution, because Jesus told him it was his will.

You know, I have to agree with dear old Bill. I do wish Obama would just do what "we", meaning all us lefties, would like him to do. And in the process, give a nice big fat middle finger to all the people who would seek to stand in the way. That would be a nice moment. No wars, people getting high in the street, my gay friends having all the civil rights that I enjoy.

However, it occurs to me that for Obama to be like Bush, it would require his supporters to be more like the people who supported Bush. And that is the crux of the issue. President Obama asked us to hold him accountable, at all times and all ways. President Bush was never required to be accountable, because his supporters knew that if all else failed, he would stop gay marriage, fight to end abortion, and cut taxes. That is all they required of him. He held up his end of the bargain and in return, received their unflagging loyalty. So are we prepared to offer up our list of demands in return for our blind loyalty? Is that what we want of our President?

I can guarantee you that civil rights for Gay Americans threatens to be an issue that could effectively end his presidency. And I support civil rights for Gay Americans. But in order for President Obama to do what is right, he can't stand alone. He needs us, those who support civil rights for Gay Americans ,to be his attack dogs, tirelessly supporting him through the certain shit storm of controversy. Are we vicious enough for that? Can we beat the Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs of the world at their own game? Perhaps, we have to get a new game, but we had better come up with the rules for our game fast. You know Bill, like your segment "New Rules"? If we want President Obama to show and prove, we gotta go first. Cause the last thing anyone wants is for President Obama to stand alone, and in four years have to hand over the White House to Sarah Palin. Think it can't happen? Let's really not wait to find out.