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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Yes We Can! But Not Yet

Brett Michael Dykes, a national affairs writer for Yahoo News posted the following story on Yahoo News today. We'll paraphrase his story.
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President Obama showed up in Los Angeles on Monday night for a fundraiser for California Senator Barbara Boxer. Hecklers started yelling, "Repeal 'don't ask, don't tell!" Pres. Obama responded, "We are going to do that; hey, hold on a second, hold on a second." The rest of the crowd then began chanting Obama's signature campaign chant: "Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!"
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During the 2008 campaign, Obama repeatedly pledged to kill the controversial policy, and in January's State of the Union address, he reiterated that vow. But progress has been slow. The administration claims that's because a full repeal would require a separate bill in Congress repudiating the congressionally approved 1993 law — and it's been hard to work such a bill into an already overcrowded Capitol Hill agenda. In March, the Pentagon announced it was relaxing enforcement of the ban, to clear the path for eventual repeal.
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Obama returned to the issue of repeal in his Monday speech. "When you've got an ally like Barbara Boxer and you've got an ally like me who are standing for the same thing, then you don't know exactly why you've got to holler, because we already hear you, all right," Obama remarked to applause. "I mean, it would have made more sense to holler that at the people who oppose it." But the hollering didn't let up. "It's time for equality for all Americans," shouted one. Obama again stressed his opposition to the ban, and again said, "I don't know why you're hollering." The group broke into another "Yes we can!" chant.

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Obama then sought to return to the event's main theme: Boxer's re-election. Sen. Boxer "didn't even vote for 'don't ask, don't tell' in the first place," the president noted. "So you know she's going to be in favor of repealing 'don't ask, don't tell.' "

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