When former Republican National Committee chairman and Bush re-election campaign manager Ken Mehlman disclosed that he is gay, liberal bloggers went into overdrive. What a hypocrite! He must apologize! Some even implicated him in the deaths of any LGBT youth during his tenure. Mike Rogers, who has made a career of outing closeted politicos and who outed Mehlman years ago, was vindicated.

While there is no doubt that Mehlman used his positions of power to help implement Karl Rove's re-election strategy of putting anti-gay marriage amendments on the ballots in 11 states that year, let's be clear about one thing – coming out is a very personal journey that is unique for everyone. Yes, Mehlman misled reporters who asked him about his sexual orientation. Yes, Mehlman was deeply involved in George W. Bush's re-election strategy. Yes, Mehlman did inflict damage on the LGBT community. Yes, exploiting anti-gay marriage amendments to drive conservative voter turnout was shameful. But we look at Mehlman's decision to come out in a different light, and see it marking the beginning of the end of Republican opposition to same-sex marriage.

He is the most powerful Republican in history to identify as gay.

Mehlman, who is now an executive vice president with private equity firm KKR, chose a gay reporter for the Atlantic magazine, Marc Ambinder, to write his coming out story. In the article, which was published last week, Mehlman acknowledged that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role in keeping the Republican Party from pushing an anti-gay agenda.

"It's a legitimate question and one I understand," Mehlman told Ambinder. "I can't change the fact that I wasn't at this place personally when I was in politics, and I genuinely regret that. It was very hard personally." He also told Ambinder that he is aware that attempts to justify his past silence will not be adequate for many people.

He also said that one of his great regrets is that he ignored the gay community while RNC chair. In that position he made efforts to expand the party into neighborhoods that typically didn't hear its message, like in the African American community, but he didn't reach out to the gay community "at all," he told Ambinder.

Many people wondered about the timing of Mehlman's announcement. It turns out that he has been quietly contributing to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group behind the federal Proposition 8 lawsuit. And, Mehlman is using his golden Rolodex to line up donors for a big fundraiser in New York City later this month.

But Mehlman also told Ambinder that it has taken him "43 years to get comfortable with this part of [his] life. Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey ... ."

As despicable as some of Mehlman's actions were during his heyday in the Republican Party and the Bush re-election campaign, the larger lesson is that he came out of the closet publicly and positively. As he told Ambinder, the coming out process "has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

The closet can be a stifling place, as all of us who have come out can attest. It makes you lie and mislead. It makes you unhappy. In many cases, you are forced by your own silence to lead a double life. This is evident in the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which amounts to a federal closet that forces gay men and lesbians to serve in silence by leading double lives. Mehlman could use his newfound voice to lobby Republicans who are against repealing DADT. That Senate vote is expected soon.

We, along with countless other LGBT people and organizations, have long stressed the need for individuals to come out. We are told – and this paper tells others – that only by coming out will we ultimately defeat anti-gay stereotypes and prejudice. Poll after poll shows that once non-gay people know someone who is LGBT, they more often than not end up supporting equal rights. Now, a significant player in Republican circles has come out. It's a huge breakthrough. We need Republicans. We need straight allies. We need people of color. We need people of faith. It is only by broadening our support that the LGBT community will make progress on issues like marriage, serving openly in the military, and passing inclusive employment protections.

So while the gay bloggers have been unsparing in their initial, emotional reaction to Mehlman's newfound honesty, it's crucial that we keep in mind the big picture that people must come out and do so on their own terms. With Mehlman, it's a case of better late than never.

RIP Sweet Lips

Finally, we want to pause to remember Richard Walters, who until June was a longtime columnist for this newspaper and who died over the weekend. Walters, who wrote under the nom de plume "Sweet Lips," chronicled the Polk neighborhood, especially its gay watering holes. He loved to dish and readers loved to find out what was going on in what used to be the epicenter of the gay community. Walters was the last of the old guard here at the paper and he will be missed.