“The one-year mark is about the time when partisans can reasonably begin expressing their disappointment with the president they elected, and anyone who spends time talking to progressives knows that their frustration has grown in recent weeks. So it was a welcome relief to liberals when President Barack Obama recommitted to a major campaign promise in his State of the Union address: He was finally moving to end the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ (DADT) policy, under which thousands of qualified service members have been kicked out of the military. If this effort succeeds in ending a rather shameful chapter in our history, it will be because of the shift in public opinion since the policy was instituted in 1993. Much of the credit for that belief shift goes to conservatives themselves.” (02/02/10)