The long gay line

The Arizona senator said the law was “imperfect but effective,” even though Admiral Mullen’s military journal, Joint Force Quarterly, called it a “costly failure” and denied that the cohesion of the forces would be hurt if gays and lesbians could be open about their sexuality, as they are in Britain and Canada.

Three years ago, McCain told a group of college students that he would drop his objections on the issue “the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy.’ ”

But, on Tuesday, when that day came, McCain ignored the top brass and found his own military emeritus. He waved a letter at Gates and Mullen, saying it was “signed by over 1,000 former generals and flag officers who have weighed in” against changing the policy.