Hollow victory on ‘Don’t Ask’

After months of lobbying and endless speculation, protests and condemnation, the White House finally got on board Monday night with a compromise plan to address “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year.

The plan involves a congressional vote (likely to occur this week) for an amendment to the 2011 Defense spending bill that would end the law, but leave it to the president, secretary of defense and chair of the joint chiefs to implement at an undetermined future date.

Bearing in mind that politics is all about compromise, it looks like this is the best we could get this year, despite a new CNN poll that shows 78 percent of respondents said that open gays should be allowed to serve. It’s a hollow victory and an ominous indication that the much more controversial LGBT legislation that lies ahead, like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and Defense of Marriage Act repeal, face a steep climb.