The last few days have proven once again that the LGBT community has clout ---when we put our collective minds together and get to work. In the case of the John McCain/Manhunt debacle it seems that it didn't take very much for this whole thing to get resolved--seemingly. 

 Here's a recap in case you missed it. The Huffington Post (one of our favorite liberal political blogs) broke the story that Jonathan Crutchley, one of the founders and board members of the gay social networking/hook-up site Manhunt had donated the maximum personal amount of $2300 to the McCain campaign. Crutchley confirmed the story,admitted that McCain accepted the money and he went on to make his case (however feeble) for McCain and the GOP. To say that this created a firestorm in all circles of the gay community would not be an exaggeration. What followed was pretty darn amazing.

 Reportedly within a few days an untold number of gay men protested and deleted their profiles on Manhunt and this obviously had an immediate effect on the site. Co-founder Larry Basile asked Crutchley to step down as Chairman of the Board in an attempt to stop the SS Manhunt from sinking. Of course it doesn't mean he's been thrown overboard--his power has been diminished. Basile went on to proclaim his own liberal leanings and express his apologies. 

 Now it turns out that the McCain campaign is returning the donation and because of this, Crutchley wrote a letter to Manhunt members and has expressed his support for Obama. This support also entails giving a check to the Obama campaign. If it all just sounds so neat and tidy, be aware that there was probably a lot more hand-wringing and brow-beating than Manhunt is letting on. Basile referred to this as a "reality check" for Crutchley but we have a feeling it was more of a good old fashioned political ass-whooping!

  Of course this doesn't mean that Obama will accept the money either.

  After last weekend's religious SaddleBack Ranch ass-kissing many gays might have felt disowned by the Obama campaign for his continued belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. However he does support civil unions, is for the repeal of DOMA, and against Proposition 8 which would overturn gay marriages in California. In contrast McCain hold the completely different views on these three items and in addition has added his own anti-gay adoption stance. 

 Obviously they'll be lots more said and done over the next two months leading up to the election but it looks like as long as the LGBT community gets out and votes this year we will be a force to be reckoned with. The last few days proved that.