Will Obama end 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell?'

last updated 8 January 2015

In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama pledged to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." But many in the military and Congress still support the law and say that a repeal would hurt troop morale in the midst of two wars. Is Obama just paying lip service to please his liberal base, or is he ready to do what it takes to allow gays to serve openly in the armed services? (Watch Obama's comments from the State of the Union address)

Obama's just pandering to liberals: Obama will never get Democrats to take up this issue in "an election year," says Jonah Goldberg in National Review. Democrats need independents, and independents "don't like big fights over gays."

"Don't ask, don't tell, don't bite"

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There's no excuse not to repeal it: This law was "pointless and cruel" when it was adopted in 1993, say the editors of The New York Times. But now that "a solid majority of Americans oppose it, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' feels ever more like the relic of a bygone era." All Obama has to do now is exercise some "political will," and do the right thing.

"Ending 'Don’t Ask, Don't Tell'"

Now is not the time: Actually, "'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' works pretty well at accommodating the complex demands of a war-ready military nestled in a liberal society," says William Kristol at The Weekly Standard. Even if there is an injustice involved, it "affects perhaps a few thousand people in a nation of 300 million."

"Don't mess with success"