Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to quote Admiral Mullen. Admiral Mullen reached a conclusion about the necessity to change this policy. He reached this conclusion, I hope and believe, without any regard to an election coming up. Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in front of our committee back in February said the following: It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy that forces men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. To me personally, it comes down to integrity, theirs as individuals and ours as an institution. To suggest that Admiral Mullen somehow or another reached his conclusion because there is an election coming up it seems to me would be totally inappropriate, and I hope no one is making that suggestion. He reached a conclusion about gays and lesbians serving in the military. He stated his conclusion. Election driven, insulting? Of course not. He reached a conclusion--so did Secretary Gates--reached a conclusion that this policy must change.”