Losing Hopey on ending DADT

And the can gets booted a little further down the road.

The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama’s campaign pledge to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

The discussions, centered in a small group assembled by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are in preparation for a possible Senate hearing on the 1993 law this month.

In the year since Mr. Obama’s inauguration, the Pentagon has moved slowly on the issue and even now internal dissent remains over how fast any change should be instituted. At a meeting last week of Admiral Mullen and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, the officers debated the timing of any repeal and how much stress it would place on the forces.