I didn't like Obama's "defense" of his HIV test

[MonkeyFunk]

Biden made a comment that he'd been tested, and that he knew Obama had been tested.

Obama had to jump in and say that he was tested with his wife in Kenya, while laughing (and generating laughs from the audience).

We get it, Barack - you're not queer. But that wasn't necessary.

[truebrit71]

1. Right after he'd made such a big deal about getting over the "stigma" and homophobia..

..of HIV/Aids in the African/American community...

Seems Obama hasn't been able to get over his own stigma yet...

[AlCzervik]

2. maybe he meant to imply he never cheated on his wife.

[DemGa]

5. That was my take on it

[MonkeyFunk]

8. then he was STILL

continuing the stigma about being tested.

[DemGa]

9. I agree

and I thought the audience's response was a little odd too.

[rusty charly]

3. i thought it was a "cheating on michele" joke

not "i'm straight"

[crappyjazz]

4. that's what I got too

[MonkeyFunk]

6. I didn't see it that way at all

but even so, the issue was about the stigma of being tested for AIDs. He should've just said "Yes, I was tested" and left at that. He continued the stigma by his response.

[rusty charly]

10. i think he immediately saw

"obama cheated and needed an HIV test" headline and just tried to joke his way over it.

[wildhorses]

7. that is how i took it, also

:shrug:


sheesh...if you look for it ...you will find it.

[Darth_Ole]

11. I think most folks took it as a joke about cheating...

Even Tavis made a crack along the lines of, "Now Michelle can relax."

[MonkeyFunk]

15. Then he's continuing the stigma

about being tested.

[CarolNYC]

14. Me too...

The "i'm straight" thing never even entered my head until I read this OP.

[ariesgem]

29. That's what I got from it.

:shrug:

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

12. Well, my husband and I were tested for HIV for a life insurance policy.

We were actually talking about it during that part of the debate.

We got cheek swabs. Weird stuff, but partners testing together, nothing wrong with that. MKJ

[MonkeyFunk]

13. of course there's nothing wrong with it

but the need to explain the testing shows that there IS a stigma that needs to be defended against.

[LisaL]

16. Cause it's an STD and he is a married man.

[MonkeyFunk]

18. yes

so there is a stigma against being tested because of that.

The issue was how dangerous that stigma is - he continued it. Jokingly.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

22. ??????

:shrug: MKJ

[BlooInBloo]

26. Seems fair to me. No need to go outrage-hunting.

[karlrschneider]

17. I didn't see it but it doesn't matter anyway to me. His impeachment comments

put him on my DNS (do not support) list anyway.

[MonkeyFunk]

20. No candidate

is supporting impeaching Bush, so that's sort of silly.

[karlrschneider]

23. Maybe I missed it, but I can't recall any of the other candidates who've ruled it out.

I am willing to be educated, though. :-)

[Boo Boo]

25. Not wanting to try to impeach Bush doesn't bother me, but I can't begin to

imagine how one could think impeaching Cheney isn't warranted. Obama may think it's politically not feasible, and he has a right to that opinion, but to say that it wasn't called for was just plain wrong. After all, Steve Clemons just called for Cheney's impeachment today, and he's hardly a "lefty liberal." Clemons said that Cheney was a threat to the U.S. Constitution:

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002198.php

It was a clueless remark by Obama, IMO. Either that, or he's willing to sacrifice the highest principles for political expediency, and to muddy the waters by claiming impeachment isn't warranted when what he really means is that impeachment isn't feasible. Either way, me no likey.

[karlrschneider]

27. I agree absolutely about Cheney but it sure seems that Obama is trying to straddle an ever-narrowing

fence. It pains me to abandon my support for him over this, but it's important enough to be a deal breaker. I really liked him the last year or so but when he made those comments, it was like getting hit in the stomach with a fastball. It really pissed me off. Hell, I could have forgiven a little bit of equivocation like maybe if he said something like "perhaps now isn't the best time, we need more evidence..."
yanno?

:eyes:

[tyedyeto]

19. People seeking employment where I work (in a fucking restaurant)

have to pee in a cup for 'pre-employment drug screening'. And these people representing us laugh about an HIV test?

Why does what an employee does on his or her time off matter when the people representing us do not have to take the same drug tests?

[woo me with science]

21. I saw it as a "Who would want to sleep with Joe Biden" joke.

Not a joke about gays, but about Joe specifically, as well as an affirmation of his fidelity to Michelle.

[madrchsod]

24. the democratic dog and pony show....

traveling across the country performing for the great unwashed....

[rusty charly]

28. found this:

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/06/28/debate-who-had-an-aids-test/?mod=hpp_us_blogs

[in_cog_ni_to]

30. It was a JOKE! He was letting Michelle know he hadn't cheated on her! It was a JOKE about extra-

marital affairs....it had NOTHING to do with Homophobia! Obama would never make a joke disparaging Gays. That's just not him and he's NOT my candidate....in case you think my defense of him is because I support his candidacy. I support no one yet. Obama did NOT mean it the way you took it.

on edit:

I have friends who are a heterosexual couple and they both had HIV tests before they got married. It's NOT just a GAY disease...it's everyone. There's nothing wrong with having an HIV test and it's not just Gay people who get them.

[Berry Cool]

31. That was my take on it.

And I thought he was doing reasonable damage control, because don't you just know that if he'd let that statement go unelaborated upon, the Repigs would've jumped on it like a chicken on a bug?

"Hmm...Obama got tested for HIV...now why would he have to do that???? A married man in an exclusively monogamous relationship shouldn't need to do that, should he?...Is there something about Barack HUSSEIN Obama's marriage that we don't know about?...What is he hiding?...

And they would have kept up the drumbeat for months and months and months..."Barack Obama has cheated on his wife. Whether with another woman...or with a man...he has cheated on his wife."

You KNOW they would have! And so does he!