Is "don't ask, don't tell" dead?
It is ironic that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was introduced by Bill Clinton as a compromise. Rather than simply sacking someone for being gay, it meant that the military shouldn't pry into someone's sexuality - but on the other hand, homosexual people could not come out and still serve.
That was 17 years ago. During that time, the compromise has become a provocation, and one of the most hotly-fought battles in America's cultural wars between social conservatives and liberals. The judge in California has come down heavily on the liberal side, arguing that the policy is an infringement of the right of free speech and other fundamental rights. She turns the traditional argument on its head and argues that by putting good servicemen and women under stress, it damages the military's readiness and unit cohesion and so harms the government's interests.
The US government is indeed in an odd position: President Barack Obama wants to get rid of the law but his plans have been blocked by the Senate, so the Department of Justice fought this case because it is a challenge to existing laws and policy. That doesn't mean it will appeal against the court ruling within the 60-day limit.
For now, the policy is illegal and the military must not dismiss people or investigate them because of it. In one sense, it might be easy for the president to let this ruling stand as the law of the land, but if he does he will be attacked by the left for not being bold enough himself, and by the right for not standing alongside many members of the military establishment who oppose change. It is all the more embarrassing for him that those behind the case are a group of gay Republicans. What will the White House and the Department of Justice do? We've asked, they won't tell.
By the way, the eagle-eyed among you may have spotted the near-disappearance of this blog over the last couple of weeks. In case anyone is interested, it was all down to an attempt to co-ordinate the publication of a series of pieces for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News at Ten: it was difficult to update the blog while filming them without giving the game away. I hope the other pieces will go out, here and on TV, later this week. Apologies for this tortuous explanation but I didn't want to you to think I'd simply got bored.
I’m Mark Mardell, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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