What is interesting is the number of items listed there under "Agenda - Civil Rights" that pertain to gay equality.  In fact, half the page is devoted to this list.

In its introduction, it says, "President Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator, U.S. Senator, and now as President."

The agenda includes:

1. pushing for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

2. strengthening federal hate crimes legislation, expanding hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, named after the young man who was beaten to death in October 1998 simply because he was gay. The website explains that "In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes."

3. supporting full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. "Obama also believes," says the website, that "we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights."

4. opposing a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, which some right-wingers have proposed.

5. repealing the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy which entrenches discrimination in the armed forces. The site explains: "The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic."

6. ensuring adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. "He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not."

That said, there are 24 pages under "Agenda", with the Civil Rights page as just one among Defense, Urban Policy, Health Care, and of course, Economy. Given other pressing priorities, the above may well be just lip service with no real action for a while. But it is a lot better than the previous president who pandered to his fundamentalist Christian constituency.

You may have noticed that gay marriage is not on the White House's positive list; the Obama administration will merely oppose any constitutional amendment that seeks to foreclose that possibility.

This is consistent with Obama's position as enunciated during his presidential campaign, but is nevertheless a disappointment to many American gay activists.

Yet, it should also be borne in mind that among LGBT communities there is active debate how far up the priority list gay marriage should be. There are many who think that the marriage debate has had the unfortunate effect of overshadowing initiatives that have far greater benefits for GLBT communities, such as non-discrimination in the workplace and full adoption rights.

Their argument is that while not all GLBT have long-term partners, a vast majority of them work, thus workplace equality provides the greatest benefit to the greatest number, if one has to choose among priorities.

Ditto with adoption. How one describes one's relationship with one's partner (assuming full civil union rights) is less critical than full legal recognition of one's relationship with one's children, some would argue.

This is not to say that there is division about goals. Generally, among gay people, there is a remarkable consensus about goals, and everybody agrees with all; the debate is over prioritisation.

However, these are early days yet. There is a suspicion that Obama will prove to be a far more cautious and centrist person than America's leftwing has imagined him to be, despite the fact that he has the advantage of a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. Except for a few low-hanging fruit, e.g. repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" which even the military brass now think is a bad policy, not much action may take place for a few years.

Let's see how it goes.

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