New Column: The sad truth about gays & the economy

My new Political IQ column is out.

I'm not feeling particularly rich these days. Every time the Dow Jones average plunges and new unemployment figures are released, my stomach churns. I go into terror mode as I contemplate my economic future. Read more.

Obama's lesbian and gay scorecard

Now we're cooking. Barack Obama has named, or is reported to be naming, what may well be the largest number of openly lesbian and gay officials in presidential history. My count is now at nine.

In the order of when their appointment was unveiled, with the most recent at the top, these people include:

• Karine Jean-Pierre as White House liaison to the Department of Labor
• Dave Noble as White House’s liaison to NASA
• David Medina as deputy chief of staff for Michelle Obama.
• John Berry as director of the Office of Personnel Management.
• Mark Dybul, a Bush appointee who will stay on as the global AIDS ambassador
• Fred Hochberg as head of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
• Brian Bond as the deputy director of the White House Office of the Public Liaison
• Brad Kiley as the director of the Office of Management and Administration
• Nancy Sutley as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.