Bill Clinton should look in the mirror before accusing others of sucking up to anti-gay bigots

Dear Bill,

Pardon the somewhat stern tone, but I got a bit upset reading in the paper that you've decided to start accusing others of hypocrisy on the gay issue.

Yes, Arthur Finklestein, the GOP political consultant who helped Jesse Helms get elected to office, among other gay-hating politicians, is a big hypocrite for being gay, getting married to his boyfriend of 40 years, while not renouncing his courtship of the gay-haters. And yes, you and everyone else is right to chastize him for his hypocrisy. But, at the same time, it's difficult, as a fan of yours - and I am a big fan - to watch you pontificate about the hypocrisy of Republicans on gay marriage when you yourself have a pretty big gay hypocrisy you've never owned up to.

The thing is, you signed the gay-bashing Defense of Marriage Act. You crowed about your support of DOMA in radio ads. You continue to support DOMA to this day. And you reportedly told John Kerry to throw us overboard last year on the state constitutional amendment issue in order to help him get elected president.

So where do you get off now accusing someone else of being a hypocrite on gay issues relating to marriage?

Look, we all know you couldn't give a damn about gay marriage. I'm sure you support it. You're not exactly a prude about relationships. The Republicans forced you into signing DOMA, we get it. But you're not in office anymore, and you still haven't renounced or even regretted your signing of DOMA. You could have said the truth, you could have come clean, you could have simply told the American people "look, the Republicans have risen gay-bashing to an art and put me in a spot where I had to sign it, and I regret that I did." I mean, how hard is that?

But you didn't.

Maybe it's because you're worried you'll put Hillary in a bad position - she'll then have to either agree with you about DOMA being a bad thing, and be seen as a Democrat who's not afraid to actually take a firm position on a matter of principle regardless of the polls, or she'll have to disagree with you and risk being seen as, uh, not your lackey.

You were a good president and a lot of us liked you and still like you in spite of your DOMA baggage, and even in spite of your trying to sell us out last year during the 2004 election. But please, if you're going to start moralizing against pro-gay people sucking up to anti-gay hypocrites - and we hope you continue to do so - could you take a bit of time to finally get your own house in order?

JOHN