Obama Shirks Gay Press

Philadelphia Gay News is running its interview with Hillary Clinton on the front page of this week's edition, right next to the half-page worth of white space where it would have run an interview with Barack Obama, if only he'd granted one. The paper doesn't stop bashing Obama there. In an editorial, the paper claims that Obama has spoken to the gay press just once as a presidential candidate and that the paper's been treated better by--gasp!--John McCain's campaign:

At this point in the Democratic presidential campaign, we're able to view the candidates by their actions. And we have found that Sen. Barack Obama would rather talk at the LGBT community than with it. While Sen. Hillary Cinton has been accessible to the local LGBT press with numerous "no rules" interviews, Obama simply has not. The fact is that Obama has spoken with the gay press only twice, and one of those interviews, which appeared in Chicago's Windy City Times, was in 2004 before he became a U.S. senator.... The local gay press is to our community what churches are to the black community--our lifeline for information.... So whom has he spoken with in that time? Christianity Today, a local Philadelphia sports radio station, Grist and Paris Match. Guess he's going for the French vote.... With all due respect, Senator, you haven't spoken to the local LGBT press since 2004. Isn't it about time? One last point: We were treated with more respect by Republican John McCain's campaign than yours.

The editorial doesn't come out and say it, but its religious references--black churches, Christianity Today--suggest that Philadelphia Gay News suspects Obama could be ignoring the gay press to get the votes of cultural/religious conservatives, among whom he's failed to get serious traction thus far. It's another reminder that as he promises to unite a divided nation, Obama's approach to the most contentious social issues--like gay rights and abortion--has consisted largely of keeping quiet about them.