So. The U.S. Senate didn't have the votes to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" yesterday—thanks, Dems from Arkansas and Republicans from everywhere—but Congress will have another shot during the window after the election and before next year. If that doesn't work, the NYT eds say this morning, there's still a federal lawsuit in play:

If the military’s unjust policy is not repealed in the lame-duck session, there is another way out. The Obama administration can choose not to appeal Judge Phillips’s ruling that the policy is unconstitutional, and simply stop ejecting soldiers.

The eds warn, however, "that would simply enable lawmakers who want to shirk their responsibility." But waiting for another byzantine senatorial mechanization to work itself out would also let Obama shirk his responsibility (to do this efficiently, stand by pledges, take on some of the LGBT fight from his office). The NYT is saying that to repeal DADT, Obama can basically do... nothing. So is he a fierce advocate enough to do nothing; or is he only a fierce advocate for the other side, issuing rancid pro-DOMA briefs and defending DADT?