Rope-a-dope

My letter to Atlantic Monthly writer Andrew Sullivan, since it probably won't make it onto his blog:

Andrew, regarding your chafing over Obama's silence on Prop 8, the only thing that frightens me more than the passage of Prop 8 is the idea of Obama becoming involved in it. Because I believe he's a good and decent man, I choose to believe that he wants to speak out against it. But we cannot risk -- and I assume both he and his staff understand he cannot risk -- Obama becoming the "gay marriage candidate" in the closing days of this campaign.

I am a gay man and married, and although I live in Massachusetts, my own marriage will feel a lot more vulnerable if my Californian friends lose the right to theirs. But, Andrew: North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Arizona -- two months ago I would've promised to eat my hat if Obama won any of these states, but here we are. He will likely win the presidency, but he also has a real shot at a whopping mandate that will help the entire country at last to say "goodbye to all that." Obama could probably tilt California's civil rights battle in the right direction if he were to step into it. But I believe he can tilt all states if he doesn't.

Remember, Andrew: rope-a-dope. Barack knows when to land his punch.

Sincerely,
Ben