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GLAAD To Honor Bill Clinton Despite Not Apologizing For Using DOMA To Win Re-Election

When it comes to political expediency, no one can beat Bill Clinton. When it comes to apologizing for misdeeds, no one can find Bill Clinton. The man who gave us both Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and DOMA is being honored by GLAAD with its Advocate for Change Award. The change in this case apparently refers to Clinton’s recent shift on DOMA in a Washington Post op-ed, that was most noticeable for his inability to say he was sorry for what he did.

Worse still, in the Clinton tradition of selective memory, Bill neglected to mention that he not only signed the bill, but he ran ads promoting his signature in the 1996 presidential campaign. So when you read stories about how Clinton agonized about signing DOMA into law, don’t forget that — agonized or not — he capitalized on his signature at our expense. And, quick, try to remember who was the formidable foe that Clinton needed to pull out all the stops against. Points to you if you could remember it was Bob Dole, the incredibly weak GOP default nominee and the future spokesmodel for erectile dysfunction.

Clinton came to office as the most gay-friendly president ever (til then), and by the time he left he had saddled us with some truly hurtful policies. What he’s never done is explain how he reconciles the two positions. Given his M.O., odds are he won’t at the GLAAD awards either. After all, when you’re being honored as an agent of change, why should you — even when the change was for the worse.

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