The Pentagon's official f-you to their commander in chief has begun.
"I do not believe there are any plans under way in this building for some expected, but not articulated, anticipation that 'don't ask-don't tell' will be repealed," [Pentagon spokesman Geoff] Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon.And Mr. Morrell is a Republican holdover from the last administration. Surprise.
I was there in 93 when the military, under Colin Powell, practically committed mutiny in order to undercut their commander in chief. This is how they do it. And this is how they are already doing it to President Obama.
Had the White House made clear to the Pentagon that the President's campaign promise to lift the ban was going to be kept, and that it was only a matter of time so that the repeal could be done efficiently and effectively, we wouldn't be reading these kind of clearly duplicitous statements from the Pentagon's spokesman, and others in the national security apparatus, including the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Adviser. Had Obama made clear what he wanted, Morrell would be saying "yes, the commander in chief has indictated that the ban will be lifted, and we are preparing for that eventuality."
But that's not what he's saying. Either because the Pentagon is outright defying the President, or because the President hasn't made clear to the Pentagon that he is going to keep his promise.
This is bad. This is very bad. We've now had equivocal statements, left and right, from this White House and their representatives, over and over again, for over a month. One flub is a mistake. Five is a pattern. If the White House doesn't start speaking with a position of strength on this issue, they are going to get destroyed if and when the issue comes up. And then it's going to be Bill Clinton all over again. Running headlong into an issue that you didn't do your homework on, and didn't prepare adequately for the battle in advance.
These ongoing anti-gay bimbo eruptions from administration spokesmen need to stop now.
