Reply #15: perhaps you should read some of the readers feedback

[CatWoman]

Letters
Readers respond to Farhad Manjoo's "Did Clinton Play the Gay Card?"

I don't understand Farhad Manjoo's point. Are Democrats allowed to point out Republican hypocrisy only when it's not gay-related? What Bill Clinton did was point out Finkelstein's hypocrisy (which happens to be that he is gay, yet worked to promote conservatives such as Jesse Helms). It seems Farhad Manjoo is the one playing the "gay card" in writing the article, busily contacting various gay and lesbian organizations trying to find someone offended by Clinton's remarks. How about asking the same organizations if they are offended by Finkelstein's hypocrisy?

Now, is it hypocritical for Bill Clinton to call someone a hypocrite? There's certainly a point to be made there, but this article was too busy playing the gay card to notice.

-- Seth Aronson

It is incredibly misleading to say that President Clinton promised to allow gays in the military, then signed the "don't ask, don't tell" law; it makes it sound as if he simply lied and abandoned us. Clinton had every intention of lifting the ban by executive order, but he was blindsided by attacks from Colin Powell, Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn (then chair of the Armed Forces Committee) and others, making the end of the ban politically untenable.

While Clinton ended up disappointing the gay community in some particulars, he was the first (and only) president to recognize our humanity and to raise the profile of issues that matter to us.

-- Robert Massing

http://www.salon.com/opinion/letters/2005/04/16/clinton/index.html