Don’t Ask, But Go Ahead and Tell

Well I’ll be goddamed. Obama did it. Sixteen years after its start, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of excluding gays from the military is soon to be put to rest. Oh, wait, hold on. He hasn’t DONE IT, not quite yet, but he’s assured everyone that he intends to.

Obama has said that his support and commitment on these civil rights issues is unwavering. He’s getting a lot of criticism, though, for not laying out any specifics. No timetable. A more cynical man then me, say, Bill Maher, for example, might say that this move, while just in its tone is, at the very least, an intelligent move for muddling some of the debates with all the other major issues still facing the President and Congress. In his latest Huffington Post, Maher says that Conservatives can only really hold one topic in their head at once. Gay issues, then, might be just the ticket to enrage and mobilize the right away from some more pressing matters like the economy, health care, and our two wars.

I’m surprised, actually, that he didn’t set a timetable. I can only imagine that he’s afraid it would backfire, not just distracting the right so he can get some real work done, but perhaps pulling the national conversation too far away entirely. Then again, maybe he’s just the straight arrow. Gay rights would become a playing chip, more a potential tool of bargaining than a simple, rational debate on what’s right and just. If he is really all that ideal a person, he might not want an issue of civil liberties to be used as such a bargaining chip. Imagine the compromise he’d face if it came down to health-care versus gay rights. “We’ll sign off on the bill for health care, but gives us back our straight military.” That’s a dilemma I know I wouldn’t want to face.