David Corn, Mother Jones
A year into the Obama presidency, then White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina held a private West Wing meeting with gay rights leaders. The president, he told them, was preparing to fulfill his campaign promise to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and he had devised a plan. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen were ready to support the repeal"”but only if the Pentagon could first conduct a study on how best to implement it. And that could take up to a year.The advocates were delighted"”but they also...