A Stitch in Haste

So says President Bush, in another one of those silly proclamations that all presidents issue:

The guidance and unconditional love of parents help create a nurturing environment so children can grow and reach their full potential. Parents work to impart to their children the strength and determination to follow their dreams and the courage to do what is right. They shape the character of their children by sharing their wisdom and setting a positive example. As role models, parents also instill the values and principles that help prepare children to be responsible adults and good citizens.

Sounds innocuous enough.

My Administration is committed to strengthening American families by supporting Federal, State, and faith-based and community programs that promote healthy marriages and responsible parenting.

But of course only healthy heterosexual marriages. To this president and the theocratic bigots who constitute (what's left of) his base, "healthy" presumes heterosexual, and "responsible parenting" presumes a mother and a father, to the exclusion of any other arrangement.

The notion that non-Ward-and-June families ought also to be "strengthened," or that non-Ozzie-and-Harriet marriages ought also to be "promoted," or that parents such as, say, Mary Cheney, ought also to be praised today, would all be abominations to this president and his supporters who embrace these sort of warm fuzzy feeling proclamations.

So much for happy days...