I was sitting at work today, looking at my Obama '08 campaign sign on my wall and I felt sad. Disappointed might be a better word. I'm not that happy with the president right now, and the main reason is health care reform. I'm of the mind that the president must show congress a way forward. He must press harder, and he is not. But that subject is for another diary. The substance of this dairy should give us all hope!
The Hill is reporting tonight that the president has asked Senator Levin to hold off on conducting hearings on Do Ask Don't Tell until after his state of the union.
The White House has asked the top Senate Democrat on military affairs to postpone announcing a hearing that would explore repealing the controversial law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military.
Now I know that some of you, like me, have found it a bit annoying to see the President continue to put LGBT issues on hold. So, when you hear that the President has asked that the hearing me put on hold, you might be excused to get a bit annoyed... But then you see this nugget a little deeper in the story ...
A source familiar with some details of the initial draft of the State of the Union said it would address the repeal of the controversial law.
So, I think I'll just leave that Obama '08 sign up a bit longer. The President may have just given me a reason to "hope" for a little bit longer.
(PS. This is my first Dailykos dairy. I hope that at least some found it informative. Thank you for reading!)
Update [2010-1-25 22:14:58 by Tommy in TennyC]: I've read a lot in the comments about how this is just another speech. True, Obama has given many uplifting speeches on this and other LGBT issues only to have the community wait and wait... But this is no ordinary speech. It is the State of the Union. It brings so much attention to every word that the President speaks. It would strike me as odd that he would further highlight a promise that he doesn't intend to keep. So while part of me remains with those who say "its just another speech" and frustrated that it is taking so long, the other part of me remains hopeful. Lets just hear what he has to say.