"Don't Ask Don't Tell" is not an issue of one party versus another. It's a matter of military readiness and what's best for the country.

Why are we engaging in these absurd practices when our troops are exhausted, overextended, and deployed again and again after their tours have ended?

If this debate doesn't go off as scheduled, that will be bad news for Washington, too. The people of Oxford are already mad. They'll be madder.

Now that the debate is settled, can we get serious? Could we please have a national conversation with substance?

Since the primary concern of both candidates in the debate was not to screw up, that was just fine. Just not screwing up, however, doesn't make for a very exciting debate.