D-Day Commemoration

Today, our esteemed president, fresh from his historic speech in Cairo, will join other leaders in the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the World War II landing on the beaches of Normandy. It was a bloody day as the allied forces began the campaign to defeat Hitler on the continent of Europe. Many died, many fought with unparalleled bravery.

I applaud the principles and actions of President Obama and have always thought that he may well be one of our greatest presidents. But he has certainly been less than great in his failure to end the discriminatory and demeaning "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military, as he had promised in his campaign. If Harry Truman could show the fortitude to end the much larger problem of segregation in the military, surely Obama could end this senseless policy. The change is slight by comparison, since many gays are serving successfully every day while being forced to hide or lie about their nature. Meanwhile, on Obama's watch, the services are losing Arabic speakers and other valuable people.