Transgender Politics

President Obama has appointed a transgender woman, Amanda Simpson, to be a Technical Advisor at the Commerce Department. Is it a move designed to show his openness, to take swipe at traditionalists, or merely a reflection of his trying to demonstrate the big tent of the Democrats? Any way you slice it, the question cannot be answered to any real satisfaction.

Amanda Simpson made the 'transition' from male to female a few years back. Transition? Do we really change who we are through what are essentially mechanical operations? Did it ever occur to Simpson that maybe it isn't about who he thinks he is but about who he actually is? Born a man, the only logical conclusion is that he was intended to be male.

Why appoint such a person to a political position in the first place? This is a prime example of style over substance, almost as though the Obama Administration asked itself 'What can we do which is different?' Such an approach demonstrates that it is not what is best for the nation which the President seeks, but what will create for him a legacy.

The great Presidents do not think of leadership that way. They think about what needs to be done for the general benefit of their people. Ronald Reagan was the only chief executive in the last 50 years who understood that. He walked away from the table in Iceland because it was in the best interests of the United States and her citizens. The Bill Clintons and Barack Obamas we've dealt with lately seem to only desire recognition for their foresight.

As to Simpson, we can only hope that he that he realizes what he truly is: a political pawn being used by an administration increasingly on edge about its future. His appointment more likely is a ploy, an attempt at deflecting attention away from the President's woes, rather than a true reflection of character and acceptance.