Hildebrand Back on Board With Obama

Steve Hildebrand, a gay former deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama who had been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the pace of change in Washington, told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann that he had been won over by the president's address to the nation Wednesday night. "I think tonight was a game changer for the health reform debate," Hildebrand said. "[Obama] explained in very clear terms what he stands for, what he believes in."

As recently as Tuesday, Hildebrand told Politico.com that he was "losing patience" with the administration's seeming inability to effect change regarding not only health care reform but also gay rights issues such as the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, both of which Obama had promised to repeal during his campaign for the presidency. "[Obama] needs to be more bold in his leadership," Hildebrand told Politico.

"I never had any doubt in my mind, Keith, that this president is squarely on the side of the American people and not in bed with the special interests, as too many politicians are," Hildebrand continued on Countdown With Keith Olbermann. "He just has to fight hard to make sure [reform] happens."

Responding to Olbermann's observation that Hildebrand was apparently back in the fold as far as his enthusiasm for Obama, he said, "I'm always in the fold with this president."