Who knew a kiss could be so radical?

Political advertisements rarely do something different. In public, straight people kiss all the time. In the media, they often do a lot more. For all the real and significant advances of the LGBT-rights movement, LGBT people are far more cautious.

Even mainstream television shows with LGBT characters rarely show much basic, normal affection. Will & Grace, which has two major gay characters, is practically the archetype for the absence of physical affection. (Andrew Sullivan refers to Will as the “eunuch.”)

Political ads take it to a whole new level. After all, political ads try to present candidates as wholesome, family oriented individuals. Candidates don’t want to threaten target voters but make them think he or she is “one of us.”

By showing himself kissing his husband with his two terrific African-American children, Madaleno pushes the boundary – and not in a safe, made for cable series but in a political advertisement. It explicitly makes the case and challenges voters that his marriage and his family are just as good as anyone else’s.

Now THAT’s progressive.