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I guess I was wrong: apparently the rights, families, and children of gay and lesbian Americans are a joke—at least it's clear we are to Barack Obama. The day after the Supreme Court of California upheld Prop 8—the day after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest in more than 100 cities across the country (check out Rex Wockner's pictures of the huge protest in conservative San Diego)—President Obama attended a fundraiser in Beverly Hills, California. Gays and lesbians protested outside the hotel and President Obama deigned to acknowledge protesters during his remarks:

Obama even noted the gay right protesters outside the Beverly Hilton.

"One of them said, 'Obama, keep your promise,' and I thought that's fair," he said. "I don't know which promise he was talking about."

The crowd cracked up.

How about your promise to end DADT, Mr. President? Your promise to repeal DOMA? To use the bully pulpit of the White House to advance the cause of equality for gays and lesbian Americans? End the HIV travel ban? Ring any bells?

We've seen historic progress on marriage equality in Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire; gays and lesbians in California have just suffered a huge blow; and gay and lesbian protesters outside the hotel asked you to say something, anything, about marriage equality. And the best the president can offer us is a limp joke—another joke, a lamer joke, a cruelly-timed joke.

UPDATE: There's been a some noise about a major something-or-other on gay rights coming out of the White House close to the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, right in time for pride celebrations across the country. So maybe Obama has a plan: crank up gays and lesbians and then make us look foolish—particularly us bloggin' fools—for losing our patience with him. But typing that makes me feel like an even bigger fool, like I'm desperate to read good intentions into the actions of a White House that, on gay issues, has little to offer besides contempt (Gibbs) and snark (Obama). I'm not at all optimistic—but, hey, feel free to make me eat that "F", Mr. President.