Reporter Challenges White House On "Don't Ask Don't Tell" At Press Briefing

[Starry Messenger]

Run time: 01:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62nklIRajs   Posted on YouTube: May 15, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 15, 2009 By DU Member: Starry Messenger Views on DU: 1149

 

[LooseWilly]

1. Hmm... priorities...

Funny that everyone keeps saying that "of course, the photos will eventually be released", implying that stopping their release now is just a stopgap measure while we wait for something or other to happen... and yet when the reporter asks about DADT, and putting a moratorium on dismissing gay soldiers until the legislative process has had time to work itself out- suddenly a stopgap measure (the proposed moratorium) isn't a good idea?

Priorities... :banghead:

[Starry Messenger]

4. I'm pretty unhappy with this.

There had better be a really *awesome* reason why a moratorium on dismissing gay soldiers isn't effective at this time. Hopefully those fired in the next couple of years will have an opportunity to rejoin if DADT is ever overturned. If they aren't too old by then.

[LooseWilly]

6. I have only one guess.

Actively ordering a moratorium would be too close up and personal of a move. It would "tie" Obama to the "Gay Agenda", and he's not willing to take that political risk.
Meanwhile, stepping in on photos is also a close up and personal move. It "ties" Obama to the "Troop Agenda", and he's perfectly happy to do that.

Ironically, both moves are "forms of reaching out to the right-of-middle", and a "turning his back on the left"... assuming that I'm reading them right.
I must be reading it wrong though. Maybe, in chess, of you go right far enough, you end up on the left. I'm really gonna have to look up the rules of that game one of these days...

[Starry Messenger]

9. Someone on DU said that

if you go far enough left you meet the far right. Somehow I always felt the left had more care for people than the rightists.

[radiclib]

10. Sarcasm " thingie " may have been useful here

BTW,LW, congrats on hitting 1000 posts today. (I was gonna offer to race you to it, but you already won..):toast:

[shadowknows69]

2. I thought watching the news after Bush left might actually cheer me up some

Hah! Looks like the same old tired sitcom to me.

[Starry Messenger]

8. Thank you for watching, shadow.

It does get discouraging.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. So the real question is..who is running the military?

The Pentagon and the CIA or our President and Congress?

[Starry Messenger]

5. Scary question.

I certainly hope it's the President and Congress.

[Starry Messenger]

7. An interesting study in contrasts over at Americablog.

http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/tale-of-two-gibbs.html

"He's completely uncomfortable. It's almost as if he were blindsided by the question, even though he's been asked about it countless times before. Also note that Gibbs is using the "new" White House language on DADT - talking about "changing" the policy, rather than repealing it. And using odd words like "sustainable," which must be code for something we're really not going to like."

[armyowalgreens]

11. Talk about word play

It's like a game of chess with these people.

Can they ever answer a straight fucking question?