A Place at the State Dinner Table

BARACK MICHELLE OBAMA X390 (GETTY IMAGES) | ADVOCATE.COM

Several prominent gay men and lesbians were among those at the White House Tuesday night for President and Mrs. Obama’s first state dinner, held in honor of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur. Among those on the 338-person guest list were movie producer David Geffen and his partner, Jeremy Lingvall; longtime activist Urvashi Vaid and her partner, comedian Kate Clinton; Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes and his partner, Sean Eldridge; and chair of the U.S. Export-Import Bank Fred Hochberg and his partner, Thomas Healy.

State dinners are traditionally held in the state White House’s State Dining Room, but this one was held in a tent outside the White House, complete with chandeliers and views of both the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Because Manmohan Singh and his wife are vegetarians, the menu was meat-free.

Find the full guest list of Tuesday’s dinner here.

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Reader Comments

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Name: aaron hunt
Date posted: 11/27/2009 8:01:30 PM
Hometown: arlington

Comment:
geffen and clinton are part of the Obama administration public face? then all of us c and d list gays are in deep s..t. just more elitist uncle toms white washing for the dem.s
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Name: RoadKing
Date posted: 11/26/2009 8:37:28 AM
Hometown: Iowa

Comment:
More token gays on display. When will Pres. Obama grow a spine?
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Name: Paul
Date posted: 11/25/2009 6:03:14 PM
Hometown: Tampa

Comment:
It is my understanding from an article in the NY Times that one of the dishes included curried prawns. It seems that in the White House prawns are vegetables and the status quo is 'Change'. Too bad they can't figure out how to reclassify gay Americans as equal citizens.
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Name: Bill
Date posted: 11/25/2009 4:04:26 PM
Hometown: Arlington

Comment:
The gay invitees are interesting -- money and power. Nevertheless, it is vitally important that gays and lesbians are involved in all aspects of the administration public face
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Name: Jeff
Date posted: 11/25/2009 1:13:12 PM
Hometown: Cincinnati

Comment:
I would love to hear that these people talked to Obama about his lack of support for issues like Prop 8, 1 in Maine, and others. He just had to open his mouth and talk. These people are much more interested in access than change. We need to be willing to do what's right and stop worrying about if he still likes me. That's the way that change is made.
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Name: Mark
Date posted: 11/25/2009 12:50:34 PM
Hometown: Wappingers Falls

Comment:
I hope that one of the gay/lesbian invitees between courses asked the President why we do not have full citizenry since the unconstitutional DOMA and DADT have not been repealed, and why he and Pelosi went back on his campagin promises to repeal them.
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Name: Max Factor
Date posted: 11/25/2009 6:21:17 AM
Hometown: Vienna

Comment:
Folks, Kate Clinton is the partner of Urvashi Vaid, former head of the National Gay and Lesbian task Force and a prominent Indian-American. Her name was mentioned before Kate Clinton's in the article, too. // Plus I bet Kate would be a swell addition to any party. Any one worth going to that I could think of!
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Name: Marcus
Date posted: 11/25/2009 4:07:54 AM
Hometown: San Jose

Comment:
David Geffen because he's a kingmaker and really pulled for Obama early on. He's also, of course, a big deal in entertainment, an area where US and Indian interests overlap. Not so sure on Kate Clinton. They needed a lesbian?
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Name: ttt
Date posted: 11/25/2009 1:43:32 AM
Hometown: Illinois

Comment:
Question: Why were David Geffen and Kate Clinton invited? Maybe I'm not familiar with state dinners, but it seems odd that people not directly involved in government were there...
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Name: Taciturn
Date posted: 11/25/2009 12:40:21 AM
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Comment:
In describing the Indian Prime Minister and his wife, they are not "vegetarian's," they are "vegetarians." No apostrophe is needed.

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