http://www.opednews.com/articles/Don-t-Act-Don-t-Lead-Oba-by-Dave-Lindorff-101014-371.html
By Dave Lindorff
October 14, 2010
Candidate Barack Obama, running for president, vowed to end the
ludicrous Pentagon policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which, since it was
established in 1993 by President Clinton has required gay and lesbian
members of the uniformed services to hide their sexual orientation or
be drummed out of the service.
In 2009, just installed in the White House, President Obama reiterated
that the policy "doesn't contribute to our national security."
But now that a federal judge has ruled the policy to be unconstitutional,
and has more recently issued an injunction barring the Pentagon from
enforcing it, the president has responded not by deciding to let the
court order stand, thus ending this particular form of discrimination
against gays and lesbians, but rather by appealing the decision in an
attempt to reverse it.
This is a case of the President/Commander-in-Chief following his own
pathetic political policy of "Don't Act, Don't Lead."
Cowed by opposition from his own Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who
wants time to "study" the issue of elimiinating Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
and from his generals, many of whom are opposed outright to gays in
the military, Obama has kicked the can down the road yet again.
Why should we be surprised? This is classic Obama.
Afraid of the Republicans, he gave us half an economic stimulus plan back
in early 2009, and as a consequence, today we still have an official
unemployment rate of 9.7% (and an unnofficial, real unemployment rate
of double that).
Afraid of the banking lobby, he gave us a bank "reform" bill that leaves
the "to-big-to-fail" banks even bigger and more dominant than they were
when they brought the financial system crashing down back in 2008.
Afraid of the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the
physician lobbies, he gave us a health care "reform" bill that will
raise insurance costs for almost everyone, do little to slow the rise
in health care costs for the nation as a whole, cause many employers
to drop coverage of their employees, and that will still leave tens of
millions of Americans without health insurance.
Afraid of the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Manufacturers, and assorted other business groups, he dropped all efforts
to pass any kind of climate change legislation.
Afraid of the oil industry, he has lifted a brief moratorium on deep-sea
drilling, even as the hidden damage caused by the BP well blowout in
the Gulf of Mexico continues to be slowly exposed by scientists.
And afraid of being called "soft on terrorism," he failed to shut down
the ongoing atrocities of the Guantanamo and Bagram prisons and has
continued to permit the detention of people without any charge.
Given these monumental acts of political cowardice, is it any wonder that
Obama has been unwilling to put an end to the overt discrimination of
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," even when the opportunity was handed to him on
a silver platter by a federal judge?
The president once wrote a book called "The Audacity of Hope." What
a joke! Any hope that this administration will do the right thing on
almost any issue is vain, and as for audacity, this president doesn't
know the meaning of the word.
By Dave Lindorff
October 14, 2010
Candidate Barack Obama, running for president, vowed to end the
ludicrous Pentagon policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which, since it was
established in 1993 by President Clinton has required gay and lesbian
members of the uniformed services to hide their sexual orientation or
be drummed out of the service.
In 2009, just installed in the White House, President Obama reiterated
that the policy "doesn't contribute to our national security."
But now that a federal judge has ruled the policy to be unconstitutional,
and has more recently issued an injunction barring the Pentagon from
enforcing it, the president has responded not by deciding to let the
court order stand, thus ending this particular form of discrimination
against gays and lesbians, but rather by appealing the decision in an
attempt to reverse it.
This is a case of the President/Commander-in-Chief following his own
pathetic political policy of "Don't Act, Don't Lead."
Cowed by opposition from his own Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who
wants time to "study" the issue of elimiinating Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
and from his generals, many of whom are opposed outright to gays in
the military, Obama has kicked the can down the road yet again.
Why should we be surprised? This is classic Obama.
Afraid of the Republicans, he gave us half an economic stimulus plan back
in early 2009, and as a consequence, today we still have an official
unemployment rate of 9.7% (and an unnofficial, real unemployment rate
of double that).
Afraid of the banking lobby, he gave us a bank "reform" bill that leaves
the "to-big-to-fail" banks even bigger and more dominant than they were
when they brought the financial system crashing down back in 2008.
Afraid of the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the
physician lobbies, he gave us a health care "reform" bill that will
raise insurance costs for almost everyone, do little to slow the rise
in health care costs for the nation as a whole, cause many employers
to drop coverage of their employees, and that will still leave tens of
millions of Americans without health insurance.
Afraid of the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Manufacturers, and assorted other business groups, he dropped all efforts
to pass any kind of climate change legislation.
Afraid of the oil industry, he has lifted a brief moratorium on deep-sea
drilling, even as the hidden damage caused by the BP well blowout in
the Gulf of Mexico continues to be slowly exposed by scientists.
And afraid of being called "soft on terrorism," he failed to shut down
the ongoing atrocities of the Guantanamo and Bagram prisons and has
continued to permit the detention of people without any charge.
Given these monumental acts of political cowardice, is it any wonder that
Obama has been unwilling to put an end to the overt discrimination of
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," even when the opportunity was handed to him on
a silver platter by a federal judge?
The president once wrote a book called "The Audacity of Hope." What
a joke! Any hope that this administration will do the right thing on
almost any issue is vain, and as for audacity, this president doesn't
know the meaning of the word.
