Is 'don't ask, don't tell' being rammed through?

Lawmakers predict there are enough votes in Congress to pass a White House-Congress-Pentagon compromise to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

But in separate letters collected by Sen. John McCain, the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines say the military should be allowed to finish its lengthy review of the repeal

process before Congress votes. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs, agreed to the deal — but is it being rushed by Democrats for political

reasons? (Watch Rachel Maddow discuss the "urgency" behind a "don't ask, don't tell" repeal) DEMOCRATS ARE PUTTING POLITICS ABOVE NATIONAL SECURITY: Lifting

DADT may be the right thing to do, says _Boston Herald_ editor Jules Crittenden in his blog, but it should be "handled in deliberative fashion rather than a petulant political one so

that there are no chaotic results." We're at war, after all, and Obama shouldn't be "pushing politics ahead of national security" to appease gay voters.

"Don't vote, tell first" SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP

FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news

briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. THE MILITARY BRASS IS JUST STALLING FOR TIME: The armed forces can handle integrating

"uncloseted gays and lesbians," says _The Boston Globe_ in an editorial, just as it did black and female soldiers. And the compromise agreed to by the "commander-in-chief and

the civilian and uniformed leaders of the military" gives the Pentagon plenty of time to finish "cross[ing] all the i's and dott[ing] all the t's." "Congress:

Don't wait on 'don't ask'" DEMOCRATS SHOULD BE MAKING THIS HAPPEN _FASTER_: Gays and lesbians agreed to this "crappy compromise" because they were afraid

they wouldn't get another chance to repeal DADT for many years, says Pam Spaulding in Pam's House Blend. Unfortunately, the deal gives the military final say in

"triggering" the repeal. In reality, DADT could be in force indefinitely, leaving "us just as screwed as if no deal was made." "Adm. Mullen: proposed DADT repeal

'gives senior leaders the final say...'"