Obama's flaw?

If Obama has a flaw as president -- and I'm not yet quite ready to say he does -- it will probably turn out to be his over-valuing of compromise and accommodation to his opponents. Sometimes you just have to declare that we won, we have a majority, and therefore we have the right to call the shots.

But Obama doesn't seem to see it that way in the case of fulfilling his promises to the gay community.

Monday, he held a historic meeting with gay leaders in the White House to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall -- the spark that coalesced the gay rights movement.

But, as Kieth Olbermann said, Obama is stonewalling on his promises.

He promised to get rid of the odious Defense of Marriage Act. Of course, only Congress can do that, and it's a fight that he wants to postpone so as not to be a distraction from more urgent issues. I agree with that.

But he allowed the Department of Justice to enter a brief in a court case that went far beyond their claim that they were required to defend the law of the land. First, it's not clear that they do have that obligation; they could simply remain silent and let the court act. Second, it was definitely not necessary to use language that sounded like the religious right.

But what he could do immediately is stop enforcing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That, too, is up to Congress to repeal as a law. But his own Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has chosen to publicly say she will not enforce the "widow's penality" (deporting spouses of immigrants who die), while working with Congress to repeal it.

Why could Obama not do the same thing and simply call for a moritorium on enforcement of DADT? Does Napolitano have powers he does not have?

His apologetic "we will get it done, but there are generation gaps that have to be dealt with," just is not convincing. When 75% of the people are ready, when 78 members of Congress have sent him a letter urging action, when some top generals have supported ending it, and when the young enlisted men and women who will be most affected don't seem to think it's a big deal -- who are the ones he is having to placate?

The latest publicized discharge is of West Point graduate, Iraq veteran Lt. Dan Choi, a gay National Guard officer who is an Arabic linguist -- a much needed specialty. If his discharge is upheld by the review process, he will be the 266th service person discharged under DADT since Obama took office.

Granted, there will be some opposition among the older military. But Obama is their Commander in Chief. If he gives the order, military discipline will require that they obey. Even with some covert undermining, it should be nothing compared to what Truman faced in ending racial segregation in the military in the 1940's.

The only excuse I can make for Obama's foot-dragging on this issue is that he just has so much else to deal with, and he doesn't want this to become distraction.

But it's past time to stop telling the gay community to be patient.

Ralph