Obama Slips Gays in Back Door

Military recruiters have been directed to start signing up gay men and lesbians who apply for the armed forces -- and also to regard the don't ask, don't tell law as suspended until the fate of the controversial policy is settled by the courts or Congress.

Top level guidance (i.e., the White House) has gone out giving the go-ahead for acceptance of gay recruits, but also cautioning that the moratorium on the ban on openly gay service members could be lifted at anytime, a Defense Department spokeswoman told the AP and other news agencies Tuesday.

A federal judge in California ordered the military last week to stop enforcing the Clinton-era law, which requires gays to keep their sexual orientation private with the promise that they will not be grilled by officers about their personal lives. The government has appealed and asked for a stay of the order, even though President Obama wants to do away with don't ask, don't tell.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said she had decided tentatively "to deny the application for a stay." If Phillips officially turns down the government's request, the Justice Department is expected to take its appeal to a higher court.

Obama prefers the legislative route. The U.S. House has already voted to repeal the policy and the Senate could follow suit after the election. The president also says he wants to see a Pentagon report, due in December, on the impact of implementing the change (but insiders believe he is afraid the report will be negative, and is exploring other way to deliver on his promise to gays to end the policy). Democrats hope this effort to slip gays in during the court battle will help get out the gay vote for the election. However, it could do just the opposite, mobilizing the majority of Americans who are opposed to lifting the ban. If that happens, Democrats could suffer even more of a loss than they are already expected to experience on November 2nd. See Chick's DOOM TOWN.