Outspoken gay former Congressman Barney Frank was in San Francisco this week and told a gathering of the Commonwealth Club that while he wonÂ’t consider a presidential run, he predicted the U.S. could have a gay president in 20 years.
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, has never shied from speaking his mind, and he held forth on a wide range of topics during an interview with gay radio reporter Scott Shafer of KQED. The audience of over 500 people, including former Ambassador James C. Hormel and his partner, Michael Nguyen, gave Frank a standing ovation as he stepped to the stage.
Frank, with his husband, businessman James Ready, seated just a few feet away, is known for his humor and wit, and quickly had the audience laughing.
"IÂ’m glad to see so many of you who apparently have attention spans that exceed a tweet," Frank, 73, quipped. He said early in his 45-year political career, he always answered his phone with "How can I help you?" However, free from Congress, he now asks: "Why are you bothering me?"
Now retired, Frank said he enjoyed "freedom from stress." He said members of Congress were in the "grief business" because people only go to them when they have complaints.
Frank is spending his time now writing a book at his husbandÂ’s place in Maine. |