And that means eliminating discrimination. If you expect a person to fight and die for their country, they have every right to expect that you will allow them to pursue happiness freely and openly. After all, isn’t that part of the American ideal? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – or is it “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness unless you happen to be gay”?

Though it left a bitter taste in a lot of people’s mouths, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was a step forward from what existed before it. I know Clinton has been bashed for his half-assed “victory” here, but it was progress and while he could have done more he moved it to a place where the only step forward is to allow gay men and women to serve openly in the military. And now is the time to take the next step.

Unfortunately, I doubt Obama has the integrity or the balls to take that step. Don’t misunderstand me – I am very, very happy that he was elected. He will make a fine President and was certainly the best candidate out of those available. Hillary Clinton may have been a better choice from an LGBT perspective, but I think she would have been the wrong choice for America. Out of all the possible candidates, Obama was the right man for the job.

And it shows that America is moving in the right direction. OK, so he may just be the whitest black man in history, but he’s black enough that his election is a massive step forward. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to work twice as hard as a white President to be reelected next time. He’s going to have to show himself to be twice as good as any other President to stand a chance at reelection. Fortunately, after the bumbling fool he’s following I don’t think that will be too hard.

Unfortunately, pursuing a progressive agenda is not what’s going to keep him in office. Abolishing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” would dramatically decrease his chances of being reelected in four years…or at least that’s what I’m willing to bet his advisers will tell him.

If Obama is gets a second term, I think it’s possible he might attempt to do away with “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” then. To do it now would take bigger balls and a great deal more integrity than I believe he possesses.

Prove me wrong, Obama, by all means, but I fear you will merely live up to my humble expectations.

Clinton 2.0!! Now comes with an extra side of hypocrisy and a free economic crisis to explain it away!

DADT is a blessing we should celebrate.

Gay and lesbian voters will NEVER be taken serious, nor will our issues, unless we ourselves take them seriously. This means, even if Obama has other priorities(ie the economy, the war, etc) we’re the ones who have to put our issues out front and NOW. If we ourselves feel that our issues aren’t important, no one else will either.

The American gay and lesbian community does need to “grow up”, but if growing up means being stupid and “playing political ball” then that is the last thing we need to do. Also all this talk of “growing up” from the likes of Mark is a direct insult to the younger generation of activists who’ve gotten our community out of paralysis. We need youthful impatience right now, because we’ve taken the tranquilizing drug of gradualism so much that even nations like Nepal and South Africa are zooming past us at the speed of light. So,, if “growing up” is what we need to do, sure then lets do it, but growing up should never mean learning to accept inequality and inaction forever.

Having said that, Obama has a Democratic congress, and over 70% of the public saying that gays should be allowed to openly serve in the military. He can’t do this himself, but he certainly can name it a priority and ask congress to support him. I believe they would.

Will it be a hot potato? Yes. Is it the right thing to do? Yes. Will it pass? I believe it will. Will Obama and the Democratic congress have the guts to do it? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.