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Andrew Sullivan presents ? without cynicism ? Bill Clinton's explanation of why he's now for same-sex marriage.

And the explanation is a big, verbose mush:

I think, what made me change my mind, I looked up and said look at all of this stuff you?re for. I?ve always believed that?I?ve never supported all the moves of a few years ago to ban gay couples from adoption. Because they?re all these kids out there looking for a home.... So I said, you know, I realized that I was over 60 years old, I grew up at a different time, and I was hung up about the word. I had all these gay friends, I had all these gay couple friends, and I was hung up about it. And I decided I was wrong.

That our society has an interest in coherence and strength and commitment and mutually reinforcing loyalties, then if gay couples want to call their union marriage and a state agrees, and several have now, or a religious body will sanction it, and I don?t think a state should be able to stop a religious body from saying it, I don?t think the rest of us should get in the way of it. I think it?s a good thing not a bad thing. And I just realized that, I was, probably for, maybe just because of my age and the way I?ve grown up, I was wrong about that. I just had too many gay friends. I saw their relationships. I just decided I couldn?t, I had an untenable position.

Clinton is a master blabber, but what did he say? He's not even for a right to marry, only for leaving it up to the states: "if gay couples want to call their union marriage and a state agrees...." He's only implicitly admitting that the Defense of Marriage Act ? which he signed ? was wrong. He doesn't even apologize for what he did back when he had actual power to do something. He's presenting it all as a personal journey of his. He's older and wiser. Bleh!

Clinton signed DOMA when he thought it was in his political interest, and I suspect he thinks it's in his political interest now to embrace same-sex marriage. I can understand Sullivan enthusing over whatever high-level support he gets for his big cause, but I would find him a much more interesting writer if he would shine a sharp, critical light on everything.

Full post as published by Althouse on September 25, 2009 (boomark / email).