A milestone in presidential politics

The crowd gathered in Hollywood on Thursday for a first-of-its-kind Democratic presidential forum on gay issues could barely contain its excitement at the milestone. They cheered. They gave standing ovations --- even to the longshots. Variety.

But the elephant in the room --- in this case, a hip, comfortable living room set of earth tone carpet and olive green sofa and chairs --- was still gay marriage, and the fact that none of the leading contenders support it.

The occasion was a two-hour forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and Viacom’s Logo, which covered the event live and streamed it on its website. Although it was the third debate in a week for the Democratic field, the event was viewed as ground-breaking for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.