"The least he could do."

Mail carriers and other civil servants:
One baby step closer to equality. Do you celebrate, or take "wait until next year..." for non-discriminatory basic family health insurance coverage -- for civil employees in 2009, already! -- for the lightweight leadership effort it is?

Law professor Dale Carpenter on President Obama's remarks today:

The least he could do: In a brief and perfunctory prepared statement, read carefully from a script, President Obama just signed an order directing federal departments to grant some benefits to employees' same-sex partners. It includes things like sick leave for partners, the use of medical facilities, access to long-term care benefits, and instruction in foreign languages, if such benefits are otherwise available to spouses.

Federal law blocks the Office of Personnel Management from granting same-sex couples the most important things — like health benefits. Broader relief will come only through the repeal of DOMA or, for federal employees specifically, through the proposed Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act. Obama reiterated that he supports both goals. He also promised that he will work "tirelessly" in the "days and years to come" to achieve them. A few days ago, Obama's gay liaison said that action on anything significant is a long way off.
...
With his back-pedalling on DADT, no action on DOMA, nothing done to lift the HIV travel ban, nothing ventured to allow same-sex partners to immigrate, and employment protection and even a useless hate crimes bill stalled in an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, lots of Obama's strong gay-rights supporters are becoming restive. Obama has been neither the moral nor the political leader they expected. It's still early and he's had a lot on his plate. But presidents always have more pressing matters to attend. And if history is any guide, he's now at the height of his political power. Today's action was, it seems, the least he could do.

FROM THE COMMENTS:

Cornellian:
This is a baby step positively Clintonian in its timidity and rushed out only when big name gay donors started bailing on a $1,000 a plate fundraiser. Count me unimpressed.

Constantin:
Obama has been neither the moral nor the political leader they expected.

I don't think this view is limited to gay Americans. I'm sure the AmeriCorps IG, much of Israel, Muslim women stuck in veils by threats of death, and about sixty million Iranians would agree.

Being president is a hard job. But when you say you're going to waltz in and make everything better almost solely because of your staggering intelligence and hypnotic charisma and majestic bearing, people expect a little more than the usual log rolling.