Bush's newly minted gay appointee.

When President George W. Bush nominated his longtime aide Israel Hernandez

For the Cuban athlete with the same name see Israel Hernández

Israel Hernandez is currently serving as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director-General of the United States Commercial Service under President George W. Bush. , 35, for assistant secretary at the Department of Commerce, a ripple went up the East Coast.

That's because Hernandez--dubbed "Altoid Boy" by the president because of his penchant for carrying the mints--would be, if confirmed, the first openly gay person named to a significant post in the second Bush administration.

Hernandez (photographs of whom remain unavailable) has been Bush's aide for 10 years, earning during that time a degree from Texas A&M's George H.W. Bush Noun 1. George H.W. Bush - vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
George Herbert Walker Bush, President Bush, George Bush, Bush School of Government and Public Policy. The New York Daily News New York Daily News

Morning daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson and his cousin Robert McCormick as a subsidiary of the Tribune Co. of Chicago. The first successful tabloid-format newspaper in the U.S. reported that Hernandez has already brought his partner to White House events, but said partner was absent from Hernandez's confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill on June 16, prompting a flurry of angry statements from watchdog Web sites.

"What makes me frustrated frus·trate
tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates
1.
a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: ," says Mike Rogers Mike Rogers may refer to:

Mike D. Rogers (born 1958), U.S. Representative from Alabama
Mike J. Rogers (born 1963), U.S. Representative from Michigan
Mike Rogers (hockey player) (born 1954), NHL hockey player, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers

of BlogActive.com, "is that it's denial by omission." But the final word on Hernandez--and on his place among those closest to the president--has yet to be written. One open question: Once confirmed, will he step out as an openly gay man in Bush's Washington?--S.W.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Liberation Publications, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.

Reader Opinion

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:	WASHINGTON ADVOCATE
Author:	Wildman, Sarah
Publication:	The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)
Article Type:	Brief Article
Geographic Code:	1USA
Date:	Aug 30, 2005
Words:	190
Previous Article:	The mark of fairness: with ENDA stalled in Congress, a straight couple has stepped up to help stop antigay discrimination in the workplace.
Next Article:	Trisha Yearwood.

Related Articles
reader forum.
Uncharted waters.
A question of loyalty.
Missed appointments.
Hail to the czar.
A quiet thumbs-up.
The politics of prevention: in a nod to the conservatives who put him in office, President Bush packs his AIDS policy panel with supporters of...
Pro-gay? Just clicks away.
Conspiracy theory.
Bush's betrayal: by welcoming gay and lesbian Republicans into the party, George W. Bush earned 1 million gay votes in 2000. Four years later, many...