This Is Going To Get Ugly

Boy, not more than two hours after President Obama announced Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee for the Supreme Court post recently vacated by Justice Stevens, the news media is going nuts over the obvious "is she or isn't she" question. It's widely acknowledged that Kagan is a lesbian, but after conservatives started raising a stink over the weekend, the White House actually back-pedaled by pushing the woman back into the closet. Political blogs can't make up their minds how to handle the issue.

This could be a watershed moment for gay rights. Undoubtedly, Republicans are going to have a fit over the fact that Kagan has a longtime female partner—not to mention her "liberal" stance on gay and women's rights. Will she be brave enough to fess up, shrug her shoulders and say, "So what"? And how will Obama react to the homophobia that will shadow this nation like a volcanic cloud? It's going to be a fascinating exercise.

ADDENDUM 8:40 p.m.: Note the word "closet" in neo-conservative Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice's whine. The games have begun: "It's downright silly to imagine that a fervent supporter of gay rights who thrived on the Harvard Law School faculty and in the Clinton Administration will turn out to be a closet conservative once on the High Court."