CLOSETED: Obama Leads From Behind on Gay Marriage, Too

Hillary Clinton fell over herself congratulating her home state on its “historic vote” in favor of gay marriage this week. “I’ve always believed that we would make progress because we were on the right side of equality and justice,” she declared. “Clinton left out one salient detail though,” writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: “She and her boss, President Obama, oppose legalizing gay marriage.” They say they believe gay couples should be equal, yet oppose giving them the 1,300 federal benefits straight couples enjoy. 

“For Obama, this is less about the issue than about leadership,” Milbank argues. “If Obama really believes, as he says, that a class of Americans is suffering unconstitutional discrimination, you’d think he would take a stand.” Instead sources say he’s unlikely to change his tune between now and the 2012 election. “And so the contradiction will persist—as will the fog in Foggy Bottom,” and Obama will continue, to borrow a phrase, “leading from behind.”