Is Romney going to have a gay Secretary of State?

And so it begins.

As I predicted, now that he's secured the GOP nomination, "Mr. Conservative" is reverting back to his former self as the biggest gay in the village.  Yes, Mitt Romney has appointed an openly gay man, Ric Grenell, as his foreign affairs and national security spokesman.  That makes Grenell a lead candidate for Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, or UN Ambassador if Romney wins in November.  (My bets are on UN ambassador.  Grenell worked in the UN, and the job isn't as high profile as State or NSA, so fewer right-wing feathers would be ruffled by the appointment of an openly-gay man.)

I've said before that President Obama had better watch it.  Romney is going to make a run for the gay vote.  Now, traditionally, Republican presidential candidates don't get more than 30% of the gay vote.  But we've never had a GOP candidate who once claimed he was a better gay rights advocate than Ted Kennedy.

Whether Romney deserves the credit or not, he may just provide some gays the excuse they need to vote for someone other than the President.  And while ten percentage points of the gay vote may not swing the election nationwide, it might cause some heartburn in a key state or two.  And don't put it past Romney to use his pro-gay bona fides NOT to woo the gays, but rather to woo women and other indies who he'd hope to impress with his un-Republican "tolerance."

The President should do all he can to nip this in the bud, now.