On a Sunday night in San Francisco's tony Pacific Heights neighborhood in 1996 while working for KPFA Radio, I observed hundreds of liberal activists, confined to a "protest zone" of sorts, rallying in anger at President Clinton, who was a couple of hundred yards away at a fundraiser being hosted for him by California Senator Diane Feinstein.
They were angry because just days before, Clinton had signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman, permitting states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.
Although Clinton has since said he regretted signing that legislation, he and his aides considered it good politics as he campaigned that year for re-election against Bob Dole, whom he would beat by eight percentage points that November.
The reception in California tonight for Barack Obama will be considerably different, as he attends a big-time fundraiser being held in his name at the Los Angeles home of actor George Clooney. It comes a day after his announcement that he now supports same-sex marriage, though he added that he believes it's up to the states to make such decisions.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2012.