Rep. Barney Frank gives Obama an "A-" on LGBT issues, Supports Obama's stance on the Executive Order for Workplace Discrimination

Rep. Barney Frank had some good, but interesting things to say about the President's stance on LGBT issues.

Barney told The Hill:

"It's not a surprise," Frank said. "He hasn't yet said that he's for [gay] marriage, so that's a problem."

Frank was quick, however, to applaud Obama's overall record on gay issues, giving him an "A-minus" across the board. The Massachusetts liberal praised Obama's decision to quit any legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – which defines marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman – and to repeal the Pentagon's long-standing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

Frank said the administration's adoption of new federal standards for gauging discrimination under DOMA is particularly good.

"He's been good [but] he hasn't been perfect," Frank said. "He just hasn't quite gotten to the marriage [issue]."

Barney also said that he also supported President Obama's decision on the executive order for workplace discrimination.

"The problem there, to be honest, is not so much gay and lesbian issues, but there's a lot of controversy about too many executive orders. … And so I think it's probably wise to wait on that," Frank said. 

"I wrote that I'm for it, but in the context of the criticism on too many executive orders, I think it's reasonable to wait until next year."

Frank, who's retiring at the end of the year after 16 terms, is hoping Democrats will do well enough at the polls in November that that they can preclude an executive order and enact a bill instead.

"If we win the House and the Senate," he said, "I'd rather do it legislatively."