Obama, enroute to Denmark, hails Mahatma Gandhi

(UPDATE: 12:44 a.m. Friday. President Obama concluded his remarks to the Olympic selection committee, which intends to vote on the final site -- Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo -- Friday afternoon. The announced presidential plans are for Obama and his wife to be in the air, presumably enroute back to Washington, when the vote comes.)

Heading off for Copenhagen to do what he loves best -- campaign -- President Obama issued a special message (see full text below) Thursday evening to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Indian independence and civil rights leader, credited as modern history's foremost proponent of nonviolence and mass civil disobedience, would have been 140 on Friday.

Born in the 19th century, Gandhi was a 20th century spiritual pioneer credited with inspiring many similar individuals and movements around the world, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the American civil rights pioneer, who was also assassinated.

Unlike some others who accomplished far less in more modern times, Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Strolling in his garden, Gandhi was assassinated on Jan. 30, 1948, by a fellow Hindu, who was later executed with an accomplice. In a nationwide radio address the day of Gandhi's death, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said:

Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more.

Obama is flying overnight tonight to Copenhagen to join his wife Michelle. They will lobby the International Olympic Committee to pick Chicago for the 2016 Summer Games in a Friday afternoon vote. Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo are also candidates.

Here is Obama's Gandhi statement, as provided by the White House, including a confusing passage that could appear to imply Dr. King met with Gandhi in 1959, 11 years after his death:

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Statement by President Obama on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary

On behalf of the American people, I want to express appreciation for the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi on the anniversary of his birth. This is an important moment to reflect on his message of non-violence, which continues to inspire people and political movements across the globe.

We join the people of India in celebrating this great soul who lived a life dedicated to the cause of advancing justice, showing tolerance to all, and creating change through non-violent resistance.

Americans owe an enormous measure of gratitude to the Mahatma. His teachings and ideals, shared with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his 1959 pilgrimage to India, transformed American society through our civil rights movement. The America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolent social action movement for Indian independence which he led.

Tomorrow, as we remember the Mahatma on his birthday, we must renew our commitment to live his ideals and to celebrate the dignity of all human beings.   ###

Photo: Associated Press

N.Y. Gov. Paterson blames unpopularity on his skin

New York's Democratic Gov. David Paterson has figured out why his popularity there has declined from the heady days when the lieutenant governor succeeded sex scandal-plagued fellow Democrat Eliot Spitzer.

Paterson told a radio interviewer today it's because he's black and there aren't enough black media outlets to counter the white ones. He also suggested the same racist forces will soon take after President Barack Obama.

After a period of high popularity, Paterson has fallen on hard political times in the Empire State, drawing severe criticism even from key fellow Democrats for how he's run state government and handled the state's budget problems and even for the on-again-off-again nomination of Caroline Kennedy to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat.

Paterson's approval rating plummeted to 18% at one point, below even Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but has since crept back up to 30%. A humorous and unscientific online poll with the Daily News on this gubernatorial outburst shows 2% agree with Paterson, 1% is undecided and 97% want him out of office "because he stinks."

"My feeling is it's being orchestrated. It's a game. And people who pay attention know that," Paterson told N.Y. Daily News columnist Errol Lewis today.

According to state Sen. Kevin Parker, a fellow Democrat and African American from Brooklyn: "He's given the media more than enough to feed on with the incompetence shown in his administration."

Paterson said the goal is to force him out of an election campaign next year. Polls have shown that state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo would annihilate Paterson in a primary struggle. On the Republican side, there's always ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press (Cuomo, left, Paterson, right).

Justice Sonia Sotomayor: 'No words can adequately express what I am feeling'

The first Latino Supreme Court justice was introduced today by the first African American president of the United States at a White House that has seen so many firsts in the last few months historians may some day marvel at the speed of change.

Both of them teared up.

At a reception in the East Room honoring Sonia Sotomayor, the newest Supreme Court justice, President Obama said, "We're here not just to celebrate our extraordinary new Supreme Court justice. We're here to celebrate an extraordinary moment for our nation…. We celebrate the greatness of a nation in which such a story is possible.''

With a host of activists, officials and relatives looking on -- including New York Gov. David Paterson, New York Dist. Atty. Robert Morgenthau and Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens -- Obama talked about how Sotomayor has already influenced Americans.

"It's not just about her," Obama said. "It's about every child who will grow up thinking to his or herself, 'If Sonia Sotomayor can make it, then maybe I can too.' "

But it was really the court's new, 111th justice who stole the show.

No longer in the brightly colored jackets of her confirmation hearings but dressed all in black, Sotomayor said that "no words can adequately express what I am feeling." Thanking her family and her colleagues, the president and the Senate, she said, "I am so grateful to all of you for this extraordinary opportunity."

But she gave most of the credit to America. Saying she was "struck by the wonder of my life," Sotomayor added, "I am most grateful to....

Bye-bye Burris: Obama's tainted Senate replacement won't run in 2010

(UPDATE: As predicted Burris did announce Friday that he will not seek election in 2010.)

If you were thinking of running for Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat from Illinois but were holding off because of incumbent Roland Burris' intention to run next year, change of plans.

Looks like on Friday afternoon in Chicago, a time designed to minimize public attention, the 71-year-old Democratic veteran of Illinois' bare-knuckles brand of politics will announce he's decided not to run in 2010. Purely his own choice, of course. And all for the better of his state.

The first clue actually came when Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now indicted for trying to auction off his nomination to fill the new president's vacant Senate chair, chose Burris as one of his final official acts before impeachment.

That tainted nomination, initially resisted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his No. 2, Dick Durbin, also of Illinois (see smiley photo above), eventually went through after a face-saving song-and-dance ...

Obama on Civil Rights Act: Good but not good enough

Statement by President Obama on the 45th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

Forty-five years ago today, President Johnson signed into law historic legislation that moved America closer toward fulfilling the dream of our founding – a dream of opportunity, equality, and justice for all.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legal discrimination, helping grant all Americans equal justice under the law – no matter what their gender or the color of their skin.

The Civil Rights Act was born during Freedom Summer 1963, but its passage was only possible because generations of Americans of all backgrounds stood up, sat down and marched in freedom’s cause.

Once it was signed into law, a renewed pledge was made to all Americans not to deny any man a seat at a lunch counter, not to deny any woman an opportunity in the workplace and not to deny any child a chance to make the most of their God-given potential.

But while the Civil Rights Act opened doors of freedom and opportunity, we know that far too many inequities and barriers remain in the African-American community and across this country. 

And we must continue to break down these barriers in our laws, our policies, and our hearts so that we can not only fulfill the full promise of the Civil Rights Act, but perfect the union that our founders created two hundred and thirty-three years ago this week.      ###

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Photo: The White House

Nixon on blacks, Jews and women: Talk about impeachable offenses

We have always wondered if Richard Nixon, who designed the Republican Party's infamous Southern Strategy, was motivated by racial distrust or sheer political ambition.

You may recall that it was Nixon's political genius to co-opt the all-Democratic South by appealing to white conservatives to bolt to the Republican Party with not-so-subtle signals -- opposition to school busing and affirmative action -- that it would welcome their support.

Now, from the latest batch of tapes released by the Nixon Library, come fresh evidence that the 37th POTUS -- the only president to resign from office under threat of impeachment -- had at best stereotypical opinions about blacks, Jews and women.

Responding to the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision to legalize abortion, Nixon told aide Chuck Colson that generally abortions were a bad thing, "It breaks the family," he said. But, Nixon added, "There are times when abortions are necessary -- I know that. ... Suppose you have a black and a white," he said, adding, "or a rape."

In one exchange that's received a lot of attention, Nixon rings up George H.W. Bush, then head of the Republican Party, to suggest that he recruit attractive female conservatives to run for office, like those Nixon had seen on a visit to the South Carolina Legislature.

"I noticed a couple of very attractive women, both of them Republicans, in the Legislature," Nixon tells Bush, who became the 41st POTUS. "Let's look for some ... I think maybe a woman might win someplace where a man might not. ... So have you got that in mind?"

"I'll certainly keep it in mind," Bush replies.

"Boy, they were good-lookin' and bright," said Nixon who, to be fair, was a rare Republican supporter of  the doomed Equal Rights Amendment that would have guaranteed women equal rights under the U.S. Constitution.

In another conversation, with evangelist Billy Graham, Nixon responded to Graham's complaints that Jewish-American leaders were opposing his efforts to promote evangelical Christianity, like Campus Crusade. The two men agreed that the Jewish leaders risked setting off anti-Semitic sentiment.

“What I really think is deep down in this country, there is a lot of anti-Semitism, and all this is going to do is stir it up,” Nixon said. “It may be they have a death wish. You know that’s been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries.”

For your listening pleasure, or disdain, 150 hours of tapes are available on the Nixon Library's website.  They are part of a years-long effort by the National Archives to declassify and make public documents and tapes from the Nixon era.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Photo: Nixon prepares to turn over transcripts of his recorded Oval Office conversations to Congress during the Watergate investigation. Credit: Associated Press

What Barack Obama just said and did about same-sex benefits

The president made his remarks (full transcript below of his remarks and the actual memo along with a list of guests present) seated at his desk in the Oval Office and surrounded by a dozen human rights activists and legislators. As predicted by the Ticket earlier today, even Vice President Joe Biden was there after a morning speech and busy day of private meetings.

The president singled out for citation several members of Congress, including Reps. Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank and Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins. Obama handed the pen he used to Frank Kameny, a gay rights activist.

The president also vowed to work with Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act as discriminatory and interfering with states rights. But no further word on changing the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy toward sexual orientation. Defense and administration officials have made it clear privately that change is not on the horizon.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Remarks by President Obama at signing of a Presidential Memorandum on Federal benefits and non-discrimination, June 17, 2009, Oval Office

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, today I'm proud to issue a presidential memorandum that paves the way for long-overdue progress in our nation's pursuit of equality.

Many of our government's hard-working, dedicated, and patriotic public servants have long been denied basic rights that their colleagues enjoy for one simple reason -- the people that they love are of the same sex.

Currently, for example, LGBT federal employees can't always use sick leave to care for their domestic partners or their partners' children.  Their partners aren't covered under long-term care insurance.  Partners of American Foreign Service officers abroad aren't treated the same way when....

Now Nevadans weigh in on gay rights -- the casinos too

 

While Californians plot their next moves in the battle over gay marriage, activists in Nevada are struggling to secure rights for domestic partners.

Despite their libertarian leanings, Nevada voters twice backed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. But the Legislature recently passed a bill that bestows domestic partners – gay and straight – with essentially the same rights as married couples. Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed the bill -- saying only voters should grant marriage-like rights to unmarried couples – and it’s unclear whether the bill’s supporters can round up enough votes to override it.

But the bill has some powerful backers -- the state’s gaming companies, which are sometimes referred to as Nevada’s Fourth Estate, who are alarmed that, if it fails, LGBT tourists might boycott the Strip.

In the early '90s, gay-rights supporters called for a boycott of Colorado after voters approved a ban on anti-discrimination laws protecting gays and lesbians. Officials said the state lost millions of dollars in convention business. In a recent letter to Nevada lawmakers, Jan Jones, senior vice president of Harrah’s Entertainment, pointedly said the financially ailing state couldn’t afford “to lose any more revenue to other destinations because of a reputation as a place which is not socially or politically the right place to do business or to vacation.”

And MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman recently told The Advocate, a leading gay publication: “We make a very real, concerted effort on a lot of these issues, and to have the sense that you're fighting against your own state is very frustrating.”

Another of the bill's supporters, incidentally, is someone who knows both the downs and the ups of marriage: Dawn Gibbons, the governor's estranged wife.

-- Ashley Powers

Top photo: Las Vegas' iconic welcome sign. Credit: Associated Press.  Bottom photo: Jim Gibbons. Credit: Associated Press

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California gov will enforce Supreme Court ban on same-sex marriage

(UPDATE: This item has been updated with additional reactions since its original posting.)

Speaking of courts,as you may have heard, California's top court in a lopsided 6-1 vote upheld Proposition 8's passage, effectively banning same-sex marriage.

The court's eagerly anticipated decision set off demonstrations in San Francisco, ignited a ton of public reaction and in California's ongoing experiment with direct democracy, could set off yet another proposition to overturn the initial proposition.

Prop. 8 was passed by voter initiative 52% 18 months ago but seemingly overturned by the appeals court last summer. Today's Supreme Court ruling unanimously said the 18,000 same-sex marriages that occurred in the interim remain valid.

The text of the full court decision is available here.

Count on detailed moment-by-moment coverage of this issue from our pals over at the LA Now blog.

For now, right here we have a sampling of reactions:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would abide by the court ruling, but believed that same-sex marriage would eventually be approved. He said:

“While I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage, as governor of California I will uphold the decision of the California Supreme Court. Regarding the 18,000 marriages that took place prior to Proposition 8’s passage, the court made the right decision in keeping them intact. I also want to encourage all those responding to today’s court decision to do so peacefully and lawfully.” 

Rick Jacobs, chairman of the Courage Campaign: "I am disappointed the Court ruled to deny marriage equality to Californians. These are fundamental constitutional rights that cannot be ...

Barack Obama signs civil rights oral history bill, quietly

Here's a White House photograph released today of President Obama signing a bill with a bunch of congressional VIPs gathered around. All happen to be Democrats.

The bill, H.R. 586, requires the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution to establish a civil rights oral history program.

But because the signing of the oral history measure wasn't really a public event, we don't really have an oral history of it.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Pete Souza / White House