I'm Ronnie Rho, and I approve of this message.

Americans face a serious decision this November. Should they vote for the Yale graduate, or the candidate who graduated from Yale? Will the rich, white guy make a better President than the wealthy Caucasian? Or, will the funny looking guy do a better job in the White House?

To really see where the two candidates stand on most of the issues, I highly recommend you visit Jib-Jab for comprehensive campaign coverage. Their analysts do a top-notch job of highlighting the differences between George W. Bush and John Kerry, while remaining fair, and balanced.

But, beyond the big issues of the day, where do the candidates stand on transgendered issues? We don't know. They've never expressed a viewpoint, one way or another. They're politicians. They respond only to polls, focus groups, and donors. While there may be many transgendered-Americans, we are not unified, and are not worth courting at election time.

So, the next best thing, in determining who would be the most TG-friendly President, is looking at their record on a related issue, like gay marriage. George W. Bush has backed a proposed Constitutional amendment banning the recognition of same-sex marriages in the U.S. The move lost Bush the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay & lesbian conservatives, who estimate 1,000,000 gays and lesbians voted for Bush in 2000. (Click here) However, Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a lesbian daughter, recently spoke out against that proposed amendment. More precisely, Cheney believes the issue should be left to the states. Digging deeper into the Republican party, we find a split: some members of the GOP, like Rudy Guiliani, Arnold Schwartzenegger and John McCain have indicated support for same-sex marriage, while others, including Rick Santorum and Alan Keyes, have vehemently opposed anything that would construed as "GLBT-friendly"

John Kerry, on the other hand, is in favor of civil unions. He does support strong hate crime legislation, HIV funding, and has spoken out against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Kerry has also instituted a non-discrimination policy for his Senate office, based sexual orientation, and gender identity. There's a point for the Massachusetts Senator. And, Kerry has received the full backing of the Human Rights Campaign, ( Click here) based upon his support of ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. (And if you're still pissed off at the HRC because they haven't been friendly enough toward the transgendered community, perhaps you should vote Republican. That'll fix 'em.) John Edwards, Kerry's running mate, and Senator from North Carolina, would have voted against the proposed Constitutional amendment, had it reached the floor of the senate. He, like Dick Cheney, says the issue should be left to the states.

At first glance, Kerry seems to be the more G&L, and thus by proxy, the more trans-friendly candidate. However, he is against legalizing gay marriage, and he doesn't say that he would open up the military, officially, to gays and lesbians. Bush's support of the "defense of marriage" amendment is a little more troubling. Although some pundits speculate the proposal is simply political, and Bush doesn't care one way or another. It's been suggested that Bush made the move to energize the estimated 5,000,000 fundamentalists who didn't vote in 2000, because of his "pro-gay remarks". Those analysts say Bush gains the support of those voters, knowing the measure will never, ever make it out of Congress. (It's already been shelved in the Senate, and faces a tough fight in the House.)

When it comes down to it, the elections are too complicated to boil down to a single issue. Not even one as important to us as civil rights. There are many different points to consider before voting. Kerry has virtually promised a tax hike. How will that affect your plans for surgery, or for going to SCC next year? You may be bitterly opposed to the war in Iraq, but consider the war strategically. Barely reported in the news was the withdrawl of American forces from Saudi Arabia. That was made possible in part because Iraq is no longer a threat as an expansionist to the region. What's the big deal? One of Osama bin Laden's biggest gripes with the United States was that we infidels were on the holy ground of Mecca. Well, we aren't any more. Will the economic recovery continue, or has it already sputtered and failed? Will we be able to afford hormones and other prescription drugs, or will they be out of reach?

As you probably can tell, I'm leaning toward that one guy. I'm not completely convinced he's the better man for the job, but I am taking second looks at both of them. It's not my place to tell you how to vote, and it's not for any one else to say you should automatically vote one way or another either. What does count is that you DO vote this November.

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