Profile in cowardice.

• Position: Bill Clinton on gays in the military - Editorial

Is it courage that Bill Clinton lacks, or conviction - or both? That's the only question left hanging after his disgraceful and pusillanimous retreat on the issue of gays and lesbians in the military.

He has reneged on yet another campaign promise, he has betrayed a core constituency that counted on and supported him, and he has done something much worse: He has sold out a fundamental democratic principle.

And for what? Simply to appease the bigots in Congress and the Neanderthals on the staff of the Joint Chiefs? Or to heed the misbegotten advice of turncoat counselor David Gergen and the pack of pundits who push Clinton away from what they consider to be "fringe" issues?

Equality under the law for lesbians and gay men is not a "fringe" issue. It is basic to a fair, humane, and democratic society. The Pentagon's new policy makes a mockery of this equality, as anyone who reads the fine print will quickly see.

The new policy says gays and lesbians can be in the military - as long as they don't acknowledge that they are gays and lesbians, or human beings for that matter.

The Pentagon has drawn an Alice-in-Wonderland distinction between homosexual orientation (OK) and homosexual conduct (not OK). Here is the language of the policy: "Sexual orientation will not be a bar to service unless manifested by homosexual conduct. The military will discharge members who engage in homosexual conduct, which is defined as a homosexual act, a statement that the member is homosexual or bisexual, or a marriage or attempted marriage to someone of the same gender."

With bureaucratic prurience, the Pentagon outlines homosexual "activities" that will be proscribed. "Bodily contact between service members of the same sex that a reasonable person would understand to demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts (e.g., hand-holding or kissing in most circumstances) will be sufficient" grounds to initiate proceedings.

Lesbians and gays in the military are prohibited from any affectionate or sexual expression not only on duty, but off duty as well, the Pentagon policy states. "No distinction will be made between off-base and on-base conduct. From the time a member joins the service until discharge, the service member's duty and commitment to the unit is a twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week obligation. Military members are required to comply with both the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is Federal law, and military regulations at all...