Dan Pfeiffer: Barry O Most Progressive President Ever On Gay Rights

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer talked up the prez today at Netroots, telling a group of progressives in a panel that President Barack Obama was the most progressive president in the history of gay rights.

Barry O has taken a hit at the convention, where many gay activists feel that the President has failed to fulfill his promise to be a fierce advocate.  Indeed, everyone from Labor to DREAMers to environmentalists seem to feel exceedingly dissatisfied with the administration's efforts on progressive issues. 

Nobody was surprised, therefore, when the moderator of the panel, DailyKos blogger Kaili Joy Gray, countered Pfeiffer's assertion with an acerbic "Well, that's a pretty low bar."

Pfeiffer continued (via TheRawStory):

"'I would not begrudge a single person who feels strongly about this for being upset with the president about it,' Pfeiffer, who was grilled on a range of issues, told the panel. 'But what I can promise you is, if someone else is president, all the other things I talked about [DADT, same-sex partner benefits, etc] are all going to go away.'"

This is a disturbing and frustrating statement.  The idea that the gay community and progressives in general need to rubber-stamp the President's campaign automatically because there "isn't anyone else" is a dead-end appeal to the LGBT cause.  No, Pfeiffer, we don't have to support Obama, and many are withholding that support until the administration "evolves" to the point that LGBT Americans become equal citizens in the eyes of our nation's leader.