San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/13/12 | Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross, Chronicle Columnists
President Obama's position on same-sex marriages has indeed been "evolving" - back in 2004, he wouldn't even have his photo taken with Gavin Newsom, for fear that being pictured with the man who opened the City Hall wedding chapel to gays and lesbians would cost him votes back home in Illinois.
At the time, Obama was a mere state senator from Chicago looking to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Like a lot of up-and-coming African American pols, he tapped Willie Brown to host a fundraiser here to score some badly needed cash.
Brown tossed a party at the Waterfront Restaurant, which turned out to be the biggest moneymaker in Obama's swing through California.
Naturally, Brown invited then-Mayor Newsom, who was taking fire even from some fellow Democrats for having defied state law by allowing same-sex couples to marry at City Hall.
Obama's handlers let it be known that they would appreciate it if there were no pictures of Obama and Newsom together.
"They said they were concerned about how it might play out in the southern part" of Illinois, Brown recalled.
And it didn't end there. When Obama was running for president, he and Newsom found themselves at the same fundraiser twice - and on both occasions, Obama did not get within 10 feet of the mayor.
As for the president's change of heart: "I'm proud of him," said now-Lt. Gov. Newsom. "There's a lot of courage being shown by doing this."
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