Miss California and Obama Agree: "I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage"

Something Charlie at AnotherThink isn't letting us forget:

I think it's interesting to compare Carrie Prejean's answer to a similar performance back in August. A young man in a beauty contest had been asked to submit to questioning in a similarly hostile environment. Do you remember? It took place at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, on the night of August 16, 2008.

Here's what happened:

Rev. Warren: "Define marriage."

Sen. Obama: "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it's also a sacred union. You know, God's in the mix."

Rev. Warren: "Would you support a constitutional amendment with that definition?"

Sen. Obama: "No, I would not."

Rev. Warren: "Why not?"

Sen. Obama: "Because historically, we have not defined marriage in our Constitution. ... I am not somebody who promotes same-sex marriage, but I do believe in civil unions." — Chicago Sun-Times blog


I've been parsing those two statements, Prejean's and Obama's, for quite some time, and I confess I don't see a hair's breadth of difference between them.

Despite the STUNNING callousness of his answer that night, and the young man's obvious lack of compassion for the gay community, Mr. Illinois somehow managed to win the crown.

Of the two, Prejean's reply took a good deal more courage. She was being questioned by a gay judge and a gay-friendly jury, after all. She surely knew that the response of her heart was not the answer this audience was looking for.

Obama, on the other hand, was speaking before a largely conservative audience in an evangelical church when he endorsed the traditional view of marriage. How hard was that?

Not very hard. In case you are having a hard time deciding who you side with, the gay guy, or the hottie with a naught body, conisder the following:

Ms. California


Mr. Perez Hilton