Notes for President-Elect Obama

President-Elect Barack Obama has said he supports the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. He will take office with strong Democratic majorities in Congress, and the Democratic platform supports ending discrimination against openly gay troops. Polls show that roughly four fifths of Americans support lifting the gay ban, and even show majorities of Republicans, conservatives and church-goers as supportive. And members of the military itself are increasingly tolerant of homosexuality, with most saying they are "personally comfortable" around gays and lesbians, and with dozens of high-profile senior officers speaking out publicly in favor of repealing the gay ban.

Yet movement on "don't ask, don't tell" remains uncertain for a few reasons. First, the enormity of the challenges the nation faces in the coming years requires a laser-like focus on acute threats to our national security and financial health, and the new president is unlikely to risk spending political capital on non-essential legislation in the short-term. Second, President Bill Clinton's failure to lift the ban early in his administration has become Exhibit A of presidential overreach in the political history books. The reality is a bit more complicated, as I argue in my forthcoming book, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America." But the upshot is that the reigning sentiment among politicians and their advisers on this issue is fear, and few want gays in the military to be the first horse out of the gate. Add to this that Democrats rarely want to be out front on gay issues, seeing them as a wedge issue that only benefits their opponents. Finally, one of President-Elect Obama's top military supporters, retired Air Force General Merrill McPeak, recently reiterated his opposition to lifting the ban, saying that he and the current service leaders did not share the values of tolerance that would be required to make the change work. McPeak was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when "don't ask, don't tell" was formulated.

If President-Elect Obama wants to end anti-gay discrimination, he should keep a few points in mind. First, as he's already done, he should avoid making sweeping promises about the issue during the transition. Second, he should review briefing points from the enormous body of evidence that has accumulated in the last fifteen years showing that openly gay service does not undermine unit cohesion. That data also show the high costs in military talent of firing Arabic linguists, doctors, pilots and other mission-critical specialists at a time when our military is stretched thin. Third, he should avoid making the gay ban into a moral issue and recognize it instead as a leadership issue. No other group in the military has their fate thrown open to the moral judgment of the military leadership or their fellow troops, and research shows that moral approval of a minority group is not essential to integrating that group successfully into large, diverse institutions. Fourth, he should consider the financial costs of firing capable, badly needed gay troops, which are estimated to be between half and billion and a billion dollars since the current gay ban was implemented. As he takes a hatchet to government programs that are costly and ineffective, "don't ask, don't tell" should be an obvious candidate for reform. Job security for Americans in a down economy should also be a consideration, as hundreds of gays and lesbians lose their careers each year as a result of the gay ban. Finally, Obama should consult with the military leadership on this issue, but should not confuse consulting with asking permission. In a democracy, the military is commanded by civilians, not the other way around.