Ellington

"It's a sad day for Uganda. ... Instead of standing on the side of freedom, justice and equal rights for its people, today, regrettably, (the) Ugandan president took a step backward."

— White House press secretary Jay Carney on legislation signed into law by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni making some homosexual acts punishable by life imprisonment.

Why it stinks: The administration's mouthpiece should tone the sanctimonious rhetoric a bit. It really wasn't that long ago that President Barack Obama was himself triangulating on gay-rights issues to win over centrists in flyover country who would have a hard enough time swallowing the idea of a black man in the Oval Office, let alone one who was gay friendly.

Eventually, Carney's boss did come around, endorsing same-sex marriage, repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and extending certain benefits to the families of same-sex-loving folks. And, during a visit to the African continent in the summer of 2013, Obama did nudge African leaders on being more accepting of gay rights. But Obama held off on evolving—his word—on the gay-rights question until he needed to cash in some political capital for his reelection bid.

How backward is that?