The Immaculate Deception

I must admit, this story surprises me.  With The One seeing "health care momentum" and "bipartisan consensus" and the Taliban as "partners in peace" like Calvin saw a living, breathing, talking Hobbes, we can almost be forgiven for forgetting political survival as the one area of lucidity he's least likely to lose:

President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.

“I will end ‘don’t ask-don’t tell,’” Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. Obama reaffirmed his commitment to end the ban, but did not give a timetable or the specifics that some activists have called for. …

“We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve the country,” Obama said. “We should be celebrating their willingness to step forward and show such courage … especially when we are fighting two wars. …

Obama also called on Congress to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act, which limits how state, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also called for a law to extend benefits to domestic partners.

As Ensign Ed clarifies, DOMA doesn't limit anything except the imposition of any state's laws regarding the legal definition of marriage upon other states.  This is consistent with how voters across the country, including California, continually and consistently vote for traditional marriage whenever they're given the chance, and INconsistent with how the Lavender Lobby continually and consistently uses the courts to run roughshod over democracy and force it on the public anyway.  Given that next year is an election year in which Democrat chances are abysmal enough as it is, scraping together a majority in favor of repealing DOMA doesn't seem like a real good investment of whatever political capital Red Barry may have left.

But ending DADT?  He doesn't need Congress to do that.  Or, as a Clinton aide once put it, "Stroke of the pen, law of the land, kinda cool."  Except that Lucifer doesn't appear able to muster the, er, testicular fortitude to take point even on something that he unequivocally guaranteed on the day he took office.

Oh, what a difference nine months makes:

From imaginary "consensus" and imaginary "momentum" to "the difficulties of governing a closely divided country" and a not-so-subtle swipe at the same leftosphere that was so vital a cog in Team Messiah a year ago.  D'ya think maybe the pressure is getting to them, or is their lord and master not quite as loopy as he's portraying himself of late?