Estrich Congratulates Obama on DADT repeal.

or, To Everything: Spin, Spin, Spin...

She neglects to mention, of course, that it was a group of gay Republicans -- the Log Cabin Republicans -- who successfully sued to get the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law (a Clinton-era hangover) off the books.

Estrich no doubt means well, and remember -- she's a paid Democratic publicist -- but she really should get her congratulatory facts straight.

Finally, after a federal judge declared the law unconstitutional in a case brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave a press conference urging Congress to act. The White House didn't even have the courage to include the families of gay and lesbian service members in the kickoff of the first lady's consummately nonthreatening "Joining Forces" initiative for military families last April.

Unlike Harry Truman, Barack Obama didn't want to get ahead of the curve.
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The gay community has always included gifted wordsmiths like Black and playwright Tony Kushner, whose "Angels in America" introduced millions of Americans to the aspirations of its gay population in the midst of the AIDS plague. In the opinion of many, Moises Kaufman's "Laramie Project," about the murder of gay youth Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, did more to save lives than all the hate crime laws in America. "8" is no "Angels in America." But it may do the job.

More important, it's a job the gay movement can do for itself. The days of political leaders like Harry Truman and Earl Warren appear to be behind us. Barack Obama and Anthony Kennedy are not the enemy, of course. But with friends like those ...