Democratic Congressional leaders say they support the troops. But, I strongly expect that in the wake of Pace's comments, Democratic leaders' silence will show that they effectively do not support tens of thousands of our troops--certain troops--a lesser, expendable class of troops, some decorated for heroism.

Will Sen. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Sen. John Kerry, Wes Clark, Sen. Chuck Schumer call for Pace to apologize? Will they call for the ending of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?" Rep. Emmanuel Rahm was a volunteer in Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. That nation's military has out, gay soldiers. If such a welcoming policy works for a nation he loves so much that he will take personal risks to aid, will he suggest that his own country's military lift its bigoted policy or speak out against Pace?

Many political leaders, including many Democrats, stress the need to "internationalize" the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. NATO is already operating in Afghanistan. Is it smart for political leaders who want an internationalization of our Iraq and Afghanistan efforts to let "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" endure and to let Pace's comments go unchallenged, when "internationalization" can mean US troops fighting alongside the armies of several of our NATO allies that have out, gay soldiers in the ranks, in the officer class even? (The Royal Navy recently launched a recruitment drive aimed at the gay community.)

Of course, when "boots on the ground" are needed in a hurry, there are loopholes to help the brass-- the US military has used these loopholes to push Us soldiers to Iraq even after those soldiers have run afoul of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

It will be interesting to see if there is any substantial fallout from Gen. Pace's bigoted comment. I suspect there will be little, and I suspect that Democratic Congressional leaders--in fact, most progressive commentators, too--will remain mostly silent. They'll leave it to the "queer groups" to speak out. After all, minorities must and can look after themselves, right?