People for the American Way:

"During the campaign, then-candidate Obama spoke eloquently about the importance of ensuring that all Americans are treated with dignity and respect. He made specific pledges to pass hate crimes legislation, enact laws to prevent workplace discrimination, end Don't Ask Don't Tell and repeal DOMA. Since then, we've been waiting for concrete results. Today's presidential memorandum is a very small step in the right direction, but it's a token, and tokens are no longer enough."

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

"This presidential memorandum today will extend some selected protections to the same-sex partners and families of federal employees. The federal government is the largest employer in the country and this represents a positive result for thousands of employees and their families; it also inches our federal government closer to nondiscrimination both in word and in policy, which is a good thing.

"This memo is one building block toward full equality, and much more remains to be done in order for the administration to live up to the promises of equality the president made as a candidate on the campaign trail. These promises include working toward passage of inclusive hate crime and employment nondiscrimination legislation, and repeal of the discriminatory military ban and the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act.' We also call on the president to [reverse] the standing policy of the U.S. Census Bureau to manually un-marry any same-sex couple who lawfully states they are married on the 2010 census, extending employment protections to federal employees based on gender identity, and reversing the regulations that continue to throw roadblocks in the way of HIV-positive individuals who want to travel to this country."

National Center for Lesbian Rights:

"The policy announced today by the President committing to a federal workplace free from discrimination, is a step in the right direction but inadequate and long overdue. It leaves out millions of Americans who do not work for the federal government and fails to include key benefits including health insurance. When running for office, then candidate Obama called equality for LGBT people a 'moral imperative.' We will continue to demand this administration live up to the President's promise of achieving "full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country."

Lurleen at PamsHouseBlend:

Obama also said he would work with Congress to repeal DOMA, but of course gave no indication that this was going to happen in our lifetimes. He used vague words such as "in the months and years ahead." He failed to say anything even vaguely resembling "I'm going to be pounding on Reid & Pelosi's desks until we get those abominations DADT & DOMA repealed!!!"

John at Americablog:

It's just terribly frustrating when the White House insists on putting out misinformation in an effort to defend the president, and thus simply inflames things further. The president today noted that: "Now, under current law, we cannot provide same-sex couples with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples." We were told the same thing on the conference call with OPM chief John Berry.

It's not true.

I've talked to several gay lawyers, including Richard Socarides who worked in the White House, and they say that it is patently untrue that DOMA prevents gay federal employees, or anyone else, from getting health benefits. President Obama could have granted full health benefits to domestic partners - not to spouses, not based on civil unions, but to "domestic partners" - and DOMA would not have prevented it.

No health benefits for gay federal employees. And DOMA is bad...

It's a day that marks a historic step towards the changes we seek, but I think we all have to acknowledge this is only one step. Among the steps we have not yet taken is to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. I believe it's discriminatory, I think it interferes with states' rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it.

That's cute. Earlier today the president's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, was asked by ABC's Jake Tapper if the president "stood by" the DOMA legal brief. A legal brief that went far beyond what was required of a "defense" of the law, and a brief that could make DOMA's repeal more difficult. The Justice Departing is charged with upholding the law, Gibbs replied. Tapper pressed Gibbs: Does the president stand by the "the contents, the arguments made in that brief," particularly the comparison of "same-sex unions and incestuous ones"?

"It's the president's Justice Department," Gibbs responded. Or in a word: yes.

UPDATE: Here's the video...

Full text of president's remarks after the jump.

This was just sent out by the White House. I spotted a typo and that usually means there's more.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2009

Fact Sheet: Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination

In an Oval Office event later today, President Barack Obama will sign a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination. The Memorandum follows a review by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management ant the Secretary of State regarding what benefits may be extended to the same-sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the foreign service within the confines of existing federal laws and statutes.

Over the past several months, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary of State have conducted internal reviews to determine whether the benefits they administer may be extended to the same-sex partners of federal employees within the confines of existing laws and statutes. Both identified a number of such benefits.

For civil service employees, domestic partners of federal employees can be added to the long-term care insurance program; supervisors can also be required to allow employees to use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and non-biological, non-adopted children. For foreign service employees, a number of benefits were identified, including the use of medical facilities at posts abroad, medical evacuation from posts abroad, and inclusion in family size for housing allocations.

The Presidential Memorandum to be signed today will request that the Director of OPM and the Secretary of State act to extend to same-sex partners of federal employees the benefits they have identified. The Memorandum will also request the heads of all other executive branch departments and agencies to conduct internal reviews to determine whether other benefits they administer might be similarly extended, and to report the results of those reviews to the Director of OPM.

The Memorandum will also direct OPM to issue guidance within 90 days to all executive departments and agencies regarding compliance with, and implementation of, the civil service laws, which make it unlawful to discriminate against federal employees or applicants for federal employment on the basis of factors not related to job performance.

John tears it apart at Salon:

Tonight, President Fierce will try to make amends by signing either a memorandum, a directive or an executive order, directing some federal agencies, but not others, to provide some benefits, but not others, to some gay federal employees, but not others, at some undisclosed time in the future. (And the benefits may reportedly go away when Obama leaves office.)

First problem, federal agencies already have the right to provide these benefits to gay employees — and several, including at least one DOD agency, do. Second problem, the administration can’t tell us exactly which benefits they’re talking about and for which employees. That’s because this was all hastily thrown together after the incestuous and pedophilic gays nearly brought down a Democratic National Committee gay pride fundraiser scheduled for next week. A gay blogger got hold of the event’s guest list and published it, and once D.C.’s gay paper, the Washington Blade, announced that it would be staking out the entrance to the event with camera and video, the $1,000 a head attendees started dropping like flies.

In other words, the only reason we're getting anything: The gay ATM ran dry.

Don't get me wrong. Some federal employees getting some benefits at some future point is definitely something. But it's not an answer to why this president directed his Department of Justice to defend a law he previously opposed when he didn't have to. It doesn't explain why the DOMA brief linked a key Democratic constituency to pedophilia and incest. Or why this president has already overseen the discharge of 253 gay service members, and has refused to issue a stop-loss order ceasing those discharges. Or why he won't lift a finger to push Congress to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.

They're not special rights... and they're not new.