Missed opportunities add up to a Promise Broken

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama pledged to "use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws." On Dec. 7, 2009, we ruled this promise Stalled, saying that while the president hadn't backtracked on his positions, a review of statements and documents by the White House suggested that it would be an exaggeration to say he has used his bully pulpit to advance the cause.
 
We're now ready to strengthen our ruling to Promise Broken. We've concluded that Obama has not just failed to push states toward equality for same-sex families; he's failed to do so despite being presented with numerous opportunities in the states that would have provided him an obvious forum for doing so.

After our original rating appeared, one reader noted that state-based developments occurred on a wide range of dates between April and December 2009. During that span, Vermont, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., legalized same-sex marriage; Colorado, Washington state, Nevada and Wisconsin legalized domestic partnerships; and either the voters or the courts in California, Maine and New York acted to reject same-sex marriage. Any one of these events would have provided the president with an opportunity to use the bully pulpit, as Obama promised.

But he failed to do so.

We'll stipulate that the president did raise the issue in an Oct. 10, 2009, speech to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights advocacy group:

"I support ensuring that committed gay couples have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country. I believe strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away and passing laws that extend equal rights to gay couples. ... And I've called on Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act. And we must all stand together against divisive and deceptive efforts to feed people's lingering fears for political and ideological gain."

However, making such comments to a group that lobbies on behalf of those policies does not strike us as using the presidential bully pulpit. That, we believe, would require reaching out -- repeatedly -- to a broader audience that is not already supporting those policies. But he hasn't done that.

We would likely be more lenient with the president if he'd made a promise that required a tangible act, such as passage of legislation or the signing of an executive order. But instead, he merely promised to use the "bully pulpit" -- something he can do any day of the week. If the president does make a high-profile endorsement of same-sex marriage and adoption equality in the future, we'll change our rating. But for now, we conclude that his near-silence on the issue justifies a rating of Promise Broken.