The Department of Defense is preparing to officially release the results of its survey on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding homosexuals serving openly in the military. That is, of course, after someone leaked the results early, probably to try to influence events. The wording of the leak was significant: It said 70 percent of survey-takers thought that the effect of lifting DADT would be “positive, mixed, or nonexistent.”
What percent of the 70 percent fell into each of the three categories is left to the imagination. For instance, what if 90 percent of those 70 percent thought the effect would be “mixed,” i.e., some good, some bad? Would that effect the ultimate decision? I ask, because I suspect that if a large percentage of those had said “positive” or even “nonexistent,” we’d be hearing about it. In other words, I think it’s safe to guess that 30 percent of those surveyed are against lifting the ban, and a significant percentage of those remaining 70 percent have mixed feelings. In short, only a minority of those surveyed think the effects will be positive or nonexistent. But why be exact when we already have a compliant press summarizing the findings by eliding the distinctions and stating only that 70 percent thought the change would have “little or no effect.”
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