He, of course, does not have to defend DADT, by any stretch of the imagination, but there you have it:
Finding itself in a strange legal position, the Obama administration filed an emergency request Wednesday with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the military from allowing openly gay troops from serving.
In effect, the administration wants to continue barring gays from the military even though it ultimately favors repealing the policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“They are in a very bizarre position, frankly of their own making,” said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
[...]
The administration argued that changing it abruptly “risks causing significant immediate harm to the military and its efforts to be prepared to implement an orderly repeal of the statute.”
B.S.
Toobin said the administration would like Congress to deal with the issue on a political level and doesn’t want the courts to take it on unilaterally.
Funny thing about having three co-equal branches of government: when two of them fall down on the job, it’s actually perfectly natural for the third to step in and get the job done.
The other day, The Rude Pundit actually laid out pretty succinctly, as he is wont to do, the best and politically smartest thing Obama could be doing at this point. Of course, as it is The Rude Pundit, it’s, um, kind of rude, but that’s the point. Obama should have said, in response to the injunction handed down against DADT:
“Groovy. The Senate can go fuck itself now. Let’s move on.”
Oh, but of course not. By the way, that entire Rude Pundit piece above is well worth the reading, just to alleviate the exasperation. His description of the 20% dead-enders who actually really oppose DADT is one of the most beautiful, spot-on analyses I’ve ever seen, by which I mean that it’s gloriously rude and to the point.
Is it just me or does anyone else suspect that the Administration will drop its appeal the day after the election?
I wish I was that optimistic. Unfortunately this administration seems to be tone deaf on GLBT issues. I think Obama thinks that somehow Congress is going to pass the beginnings of the repeal, and believe any one who believes what is in front of Congress repeals DADT needs to do their homework, he can take credit. Although if by some miracle it does pass it still needs to be signed off by Gates and Mullen who will tell us the military isn’t ready because of two wars and it won’t happen.
In the meantime the administration will appeal this all the way to the SCOTUS where the ban will be upheld. Then he will be holding his hand out for our money saying if we elect him and the Dems he will repeal it in his 2nd term. We have been taken for fools but HRC and other apologists will be there patting him on the back saying how he’s done such a good job.
I really cannot understand the President’s logic except as election politics but he’s really thinking 2012 not 2010.
He’s not the only one thingking about 2012. I am not voting for this bigot again (I voted for him in the primary and general election in 2008 and donated to his campaign).
Every day I’m happier I didn’t vote for him in 2008, and he gives me new reasons not to vote for him in 2012.