Too little, too late

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Salon.com's Broadsheet?

Right on with this one... 'I think she really hit the nail on the head for the most part.

I would like to suggest, however, that the man is trying. He's making the mistake that many Americans currently make when trying to be "inclusive". Being inclusive does not mean that you have a collection of archetypal figureheads of the various races, sexual orientations, religions, genders (and other groupings of humanity). It means that the general environment is such that they all feel comfortable being there. Which, is not easy... but that's the goal.

Goldstein's choice of quotes was absolutely appropriate in this circumstance and pretty much hits the nail on the head:

John Aravosis of Americablog was quick to note that he doesn’t call for people of color to sit down at the table with openly declared racists. The same goes for women and Jews, I would add. You won’t see Obama inviting Ann Coulter to headline a key event, then “balancing” her with an invite to Patricia J. Williams. Ditto for Holocaust denier David Irving and Elie Weisel, or David Duke and Henry Louis Gates.

You're going to aggravate both sides by putting them in such a confrontational position. While I actually disagree with Goldstein that having the two sides sit at the table together is an inherently bad idea (I think it's necessary sometimes), I think this was simply an inappropriate venue. We should be celebrating the inauguration of the first black president. While LBGT issues are as important and as pressing as the issues of racism that exist in this country, can we take a moment to celebrate some of the progress we've made? Certainly we still have a long way to go... but, I mean... did Obama's team REALLY have to inject this kind of controversy into the inauguration? Couldn't they have chosen a moderate to speak? Someone who's not going to actively piss off the extremists on both sides?

Goldstein is absolutely right when she comments that team Obama's remedy to the situation is not really fixing anything. I completely agree we should not give Obama a pass on this one, which is unfortunate, because this should be a moment to celebrate... not to criticize. Bad Obama! Bad!