Constructive Impatience

I'll admit it.
The Rick Warren selection stung. I really tried not to
take it personally. I raised many gay dollars (insert funny
visual here) for the president-elect. I received more
than a handful of e-mails with the subject line "I
want my money back."

My 81-year-old
mother said it in her own inimitable fashion: "That
wasn't very nice of [Obama]. After all you people did for
him...." (This may be the only time I have ever
laughed heartily when referred to as "you people.")

My partner says
she is done. She doesn't want to go to the inauguration
or any of those balls with me. I get her point. And it's not
because I'm not a very good dancer.

During the
primary and general election season, everything was so
clear. The president-elect is in the right place in
terms of his record and on policy positions on issues
facing LGBT Americans. Our community had to work like
crazy to get him elected. Many of us did. Conversely,
another thing was clear. The gay community's support
would not bring him a single electoral vote he needed.
And might lose him a few. I get that too. We are,
after all, the most effective weapon in the cultural war --
the last and best hope of the religious right. Just
ask Rick.

And so like many
of us, we look for signals during the transition so that
we can continue to believe the promise. And there have been
some. LGBT community leaders met with the most senior
folks in the transition team. The team members were
smart, supportive, and impressive. And yes, we all
celebrated the announcement of Nancy Sutley to the chair of
the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

But here we are
on the cusp of New Year's Eve -- and we've got Nancy Sutley and we've got
Rick Warren.