The gay community is cheering President Obama for nominating three open homosexuals to ambassadorial posts, while the head of the Catholic League is denouncing the mainstream media for ignoring news of a U.S. ambassador accused of soliciting sex from children.
Meanwhile, a major Catholic newspaper is reminding readers that the Obama administration still has major problems with the Roman Catholic Church over abortion and gay marriage, despite the nomination of a Catholic official to serve as ambassador to the Vatican.
With so much sex and diplomacy in the news, today’s column should be rated R.
The Human Rights Campaign this week congratulated Mr. Obama for nominating James Costos as ambassador to Spain, Rufus Gifford as envoy to Denmark and Daniel Baer as ambassador to the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Mr. Costos is an executive at HBO, Mr. Gifford is a former top fundraiser for Mr. Obama, and Mr. Baer is as deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, praised Mr. Costos as an “incredible global business executive,” called Mr. Gifford a “terrific choice” for ambassador to Denmark, and cited Mr. Baer’s “distinguished career in public service.”
The Keen News Service, which cover gay issues, noted that Mr. Costos’ and Mr. Gifford’s nominations are significant because most homosexual ambassadors serve in “relatively small countries.”
While the mainstream media reported on the three nominations as advances for the gay agenda, reporters mostly ignored the news that U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman was accused of soliciting sex from children.
Mr. Gutman, a prominent Washington lawyer and top Obama campaign aide, denounced the “baseless allegations” and insisted he never “engaged in any improper activity.” Mr. Gutman is frequently photographed with his wife at diplomatic receptions in Belgium.
The media widely reported on a leak of a memo about a State Department investigator who suspected Mr. Gutman of approaching prostitutes in Belgium, but ignored the investigator’s allegation that he also was seeking child sex.
Catholic League President Bill Donohue accused the media of a cover-up, saying that reporters jumped on “decades-old allegations” of priests committing pedophilia but ignored such charges when they were aimed at an Obama supporter.
“Let’s face it: the media, as well as pundits are not interested in kids. Their interest is in the identify of the offender,” Mr. Donohue wrote at Newsbusters.org.
The Washington Times reported on the scandal last week, noting that a leaked government memo said the State Department investigator “determined that the ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children.”
The National Catholic Register reported favorably on Mr. Obama’s nomination of Ken Hackett, former president of Catholic Relief Services, to serve as ambassador to the Vatican.
The newspaper noted, however, that the appointment of an ambassador to the Holy See is a “sensitive decision in light of the Obama administration’s strong international support for legal abortion and homosexual political causes.”
The newspaper also reminded readers that the church is in a dispute with Mr. Obama over the new health care law that requires Catholic institutions, such as Catholic Relief Services, to cover contraception and abortion pills in health insurance plans.
• Embassy Row is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. James Morrison can be reached at jmorrison@washingtontimes.com or @EmbassyRow.
• James Morrison can be reached at jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.
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