Charles Jaco has written opinion and commentary pieces for dozens of magazines and newspapers. Each week, read and comment on a fresh on-line version. The discussion page enables you to share your view points world wide. If you would like to make a comment go to the " Join the discussion" link below. If you would like to view past editorials visit the Editorial Archive. Editorial: 1/7/2000 DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL, DON'T THINK Campaigning for a presidential nomination, as Richard Nixon knew well, means being a lousy driver. Nixon once noted that you get the GOP nomination by driving on the right shoulder, appealing to the conservatives who control the nominating process, before swerving back toward the center line in the general campaign. For Democrats, a rear-view mirror image---drive on the left shoulder to placate the party's left wing, then head toward the center in the general election. Al Gore learned to drive early. Therefore, it was a shock, but no surprise, when he said in a debate with Bill Bradley that he would require any military commanders he would appoint as President to support the gays in the military policy. A "litmus test", he called it. "Boneheaded" the military brass calls it. In the best of all worlds, the only test any military officer should pass is whether or not he or she can lead their people into combat. But it's never been that way. Military commanders from Winfield Scott to Douglas MacArthur have been dumped by the Commmander-in-Chief because of political and strategic disagreements. Having gays in the military isn't really the issue, either. From the Peloponnesian War to Desert Storm, there have always been homosexuals in the world's armies. Don't ask don't tell has been the operative thought for centuries--you can be gay, straight, or enjoy sex with animals, but as long as you don't make a big deal about it, and as long as you can perform your job, who cared? Bu in the age of Oprah, everybody cares. So the armed forces have become a giant petri dish for social experiments. And that's where the problem lies. Al Gore, who as a Vietnam vet should know better, has bought into the idea of using the military as a test tube to suss out all sorts of gender, racial, religious, and sexual preference issues. And making any one of them a "litmus test" for potential military commanders is just the sort of thing that can get good people killed in combat. One of the most inspired, and unusual, appointments ever made was when FDR, in 1940, made General George C. Marshall Chief of Staff. Marshall immediately set about re- assigning and removing dozens of generals who had acheived their rank mainly due to political sucking up. Can we say for sure this saved thousands of American lives once we entered World War II a year later? No, but that's how the smart money bets. Despite what Ms. Winfrey or Mr. Gore may think, the military's purpose is not to provide camo guinea pigs for various experiments in social tolerance. The military's purpose is to ensure national security when other means fail. That means fighting, and often, dying. The military has put up with quite enough in the almost-a-decade since Desert Storm. It does not need another Commander-in-Chief from the Kumbayah school of geo-politics. If you felt a seismic shift in the past few days, it was probably George Marshall increasing his r.p.m's. Join the discussion

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