Obama, the Social Liberal, Governs as a Socially Moderate

By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

Prominent Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf calls him "probably the most pro-gay president in history." The antiabortion website Life Site News calls him "The Most Pro-Abortion President in History." The right and left agree that President Obama is the most socially liberal president to date.

Except that he hasn't governed that way. At least not yet.

Compare Obama's actions on three major social policy fronts with those of President Bill Clinton, who is viewed as much more of a cultural conservative than is Obama:

1. Supreme Court nominations. For his first high court pick, Clinton chose Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A former chief litigator for the American Civil Liberties Union's women's rights project, Ginsburg had written extensively on her view that a woman's right to abortion should be "grounded in the concept of women's right to equality rather than in the right to privacy," according to the New York Times.

Ginsburg took issue with the details of how Roe v. Wade was decided, but her belief in a woman's right to choose an abortion was clear. Clinton himself made no bones about Ginsberg's support of abortion rights. She's "clearly pro-choice," he told reporters a day after nominating her, adding that her stand on abortion was "the important thing."

Compare that to Obama's first Supreme Court pick. Unlike Ginsburg at the time of her nomination, Sonia Sotomayor isn't an abortion rights advocate. In the few cases in which she's ruled on abortion-related issues, she has sided with abortion rights foes. Her views on Roe are inscrutable enough that statements from pro-abortion rights groups about her nomination have been noticeably restrained.

2. The military's gay ban. In his first week in office, Clinton moved to end the ban on gays in the military, taking his case to the joint chiefs of staff and setting a timetable for an executive order to reverse the ban. The move backfired famously, giving the nascent Clinton administration lots of political headaches. It ultimately failed, resulting in "don't ask, don't tell."

Obama, meanwhile, vowed to rescind the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military, and his aides reaffirmed the promise during the presidential transition period. But President Obama has apparently stepped back from a rapid timetable for repealing that policy, irking gay rights advocates.

3. Abortion Policy. One of Clinton's first acts as president was to reverse the so-called Mexico City policy, which bannedfederal funds for groups abroad that offer or promote abortion. He used the anniversary of Roe v. Wade to sign an executive order lifting the ban, sending a clear message of solidarity to abortion rights advocates—and of opposition to the antiabortion activists gathering in Washington for the annual March for Life. Clinton's first budget included proposals for ending restrictions on funding abortions for poor women.

Like Clinton, one of Obama's first acts was to reverse the Mexico City policy, which had been reinstated by George W. Bush. But Obama did so quietly on a Friday afternoon to avoid inflaming abortion rights opponents. His first budget avoided rolling back funding restrictions for abortion, ticking off some abortion rights groups.

So far, the most socially liberal president in American history is governing as a social moderate.

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