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Would not Require Supporting Openly Gay Personnel Reversal Follows Criticisms by Retired Military Brass |
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Compiled By GayToday
During Wednesday's New Hampshire presidential primary debates with former Senator Bill Bradley, Mr. Gore had said: "I think that would require those who wanted to serve on the Joint Chiefs to be in agreement with that policy…I would insist before appointing anybody to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that that individual support my policy, and yes, I would make that a requirement."
"It has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of gays in the military," said General Krulak, "It has everything to do with how a commander in chief goes about getting the best officers in the land." General John W. Vessey, Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs under Ronald Reagan, said: "The job of chiefs, and particularly the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is to give the president their best military advice…To have the president give him the advice beforehand doesn't seem to make a lot of sense—whatever the issue." Democratic candidate Gore's comments about 'litmus test' were called "the most idiotic thing I've ever heard," on Thursday by Republican candidate Gary Bauer, and "disgraceful" by Republican candidate John McCain. Reversing himself on Friday, Mr. Gore told reporters: "I did not mean to imply that there should ever be any kind of inquiry into the personal political opinion of the officers in the U.S. military." The Vice-president's press secretary, Chris Lehane, avoided calling Mr. Gore's reversal a "retraction," calling it instead a "clarification." |
Des Moines, Iowa—Vice President Al Gore backtracked Friday on an
specific part of his strong statement of support for openly gay service members—
retracting his assurance that he would require that Joint Chiefs of Staff appointees
agree with his policy that gay men and lesbians should serve openly in the military.
