…the more they remain the same.
The chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines objected on Wednesday to a compromise plan to repeal the military’s ban on allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly, a position that put them at odds with President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
In letters solicited by Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who is opposed to repeal, the chiefs said they wanted Congress to delay voting on the issue until after Dec. 1, when the Pentagon is to complete a review of how the military should carry out the changes.
This is the same problem that Bill Clinton faced back in 1993. His own military stood up to him and publicly resisted his proposed change in policy. In this case, Obama is doing better because the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee are on his side. Obama still had to deal Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and these top officers of the services who are opposing him. Anyone want to heckle the president over this?
