There is something about hearing your president affirm your humanity that you don't know what effect it has until you hear it.

I think sex is completely absurdly demonized in our culture. But in the end, however much sex you want to have, with however many people in how many ways, to be loved and to love is what human beings really want.

I think very few people are gay. I'm a two-percenter myself.

I think you earn your reputation for honesty and integrity literally hour-by-hour, and taste for that matter.

I must say that the Katrina response does help me better understand the situation in Iraq. The best bet is that the president doesn't actually know what's happening there, is cocooned from reality, has no one in his high-level staff able to tell him what's actually happening, and has created a culture of denial and loyalty that makes fixing mistakes or holding people accountable all but impossible.

Homophobia whether internalized or externalized is really fear; it's not hatred, it's fear. It's fear of the truth about ourselves.

Anything that raises any internal honesty about gay life is inherently suspect.