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04/28/2010
'Spoken From The Heart' on the spankings Bush Co. delivered to the same
Politico gives us a glimpse of what we can expect from Laura Bush's memoir (hitting shelves on Tuesday):
“In 2004 the social question that animated the campaign was gay marriage," Mrs. Bush writes in her 456-page book. "Before the election season had unfolded, I had talked to George about not making gay marriage a significant issue. We have, I reminded him, a number of close friends who are gay or whose children are gay. But at that moment I could never have imagined what path this issue would take and where it would lead.”
*Read more: Laura Bush memoir: Iraq, gay marriage and overseas intrigue [Politico]
Interesting. I mean, "the path," pre-George's heinously homo-hostile public calls for a Federal Marriage Amendment, led to the legalization of marriage equality in our first state (Mass.). So is Ms. Bush saying that she never thought same-sex unions were a reality, so she saw no reason to hurt her gay friends when their rights were just theoretical?
Or, to be fair, is she simply saying that she had no clue that the situation, good and bad and otherwise, would get so huge and headline-grabbing? Even if this is what she's saying, the fact remains that the Bushes took the exactly wrong position, adding contention and controversy to a national conversation that should be fair and reasoned. That will always be on the administration's legacy. But it would be at least somewhat better to know that Laura, who many LGBT people considered the most sympathetic Bush player, is not saying that increased equality is the variable on which her support for her gay friends hinges/collapses.
This is only one small passage, and it's impossible to know the full expanse of Ms. Bush's thoughts from it alone. We'll wait and pass judgment until we read more from what is presumably a longer, more fleshed out discussion. But pass judgement on these passages we most certainly will. Because the wounds that the Bush Administration put on our LGBT souls may take an entire lifetime to heal. Anyone who was in a position to have made a positive difference but forfeited their opportunity to do so? Well, they should expect their own lifetime of "Why?" and "How could you?"
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**UPDATE:, 5/16: We're pleased to announced that our instinctual cynicism was, in fact, wrong! Her comments were certainly meant to be in the best interest of gays and lesbians! On both Larry King and Fox News Sunday, Ms. Bush has clearly and emphatically stated her support:
**CNN: Video: To find Bush Library's Laura wing, look left
**Fox News: Video: A certain FLOTUS is clearly itchin' for Dallas pride invites
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