Obama takes a small step on gay rights

President Obama today signed an executive order extending some federal benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. It's a small step, but Obama made a point of announcing it himself, to highlight his continued commitment to the cause of gay rights. Good call on his part, as lots of gay rights activists are not happy with him right now.

Unfortunately for those activists, Obama cannot repeal DOMA by himself. There are still something like 40 states that ban gay marriage. There are still a number of moderate Democrats who really, really do not want to vote on this issue, because it might cost them their jobs.

The genius of a move like this is that it actually does some good, but doesn't really give the right enough to take him on. It's a bureaucratic thing, and it won't be noticed by many people. A few more of these, and all of a sudden you're talking about real change.