Obama castigates GOP prez candidates: Commander in Chief must support gay troops

The highlight of the President's speech at the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner was his sharp rebuke of the GOP presidential candidates for refusing to say a word while several members of the audience at the last debate booed a gay soldier. Here's that snippet, from Igor Volsky of ThinkProgress:



More from AP:

In a sharp rebuke of his Republican rivals, President Barack Obama said anyone who wants to be commander in chief must support the entire U.S. military, including gay service members.

A combative Obama criticized GOP presidential candidates for staying silent when the crowd at a recent debate booed a gay soldier who asked a question of the contenders via videotape.

"You want to be commander in chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it's not politically convenient," Obama said during remarks at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization.

Referencing the boos at the Sept. 22 Republican debate, he said: "We don't believe in standing silent when that happens."

If you haven't already, please check out the video, read and then sign the open letter to the GOP presidential candidates from former members of the military who are demanding an apology.

Here's the rest of Obama's speech at the dinner - Obama starts around 10 minutes into the video.

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AP on Obama, gay marriage, and the HRC dinner

AP:

President Barack Obama is headlining the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner Saturday night, addressing the gay rights group less than two weeks after the military ended its ban on openly gay service members, an effort Obama championed.

But the president is not expected to use his speech to announce any change to his self-proclaimed "evolving" position on gay marriage.

Joe Sudbay of AmericaBlog.com was among the bloggers Obama spoke with last year. He said that while most gay advocates won't stop supporting the president if he doesn't come out in favor of gay marriage before the election, doing so could give Obama's base much-needed energy.

"He might not lose votes, but he won't gain enthusiasm," Sudbay said.

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