So Mavericky

When will John McCain fade away?  After release of the Pentagon's long-anticipated survey which demonstrated that 70% of service members believe that allowing openly gay men and women to serve openly "would be positive, mixed or of no consequence at all," McCain still objects.  He scoured the report to find that a majority of Marines in combat and close to a majority of Army combat troops think repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would have a negative impact. 

McCain, of course, originally agreed to abide by the recommendations of top military officials, but that was only when he believed they would agree with him.  Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, and a raft of other top military officials, have called for repeal.  Gates ably rebutted McCain's alleged concerns by focusing on the report's broader findings and noting that that many of those in combat are young and have limited experience, but with "time and adequate preparation, we can mitigate their concerns." 

McCain undoubtedly would have opposed racial integration of the military back when President Harry Truman insisted on ending racial segregation despite widespread opposition of most service members.  With a far greater percentage of military personnel demonstrating little or no problem with repealing DADT, McCain and his anti-gay allies have run out of excuses.  But this may not matter.  It appears that the lame duck Senate may not have the votes to repeal, and McCain's bigotry may be enough to scuttle the effort.  [Related posts:  What's With Arizona?, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Be Lame, More on DADT]