There has been so much not going well in America as of late that this success in repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell that will happen with a historic vote in the Senate today is a tremendous lift.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone. Today at 3 pm, a roll call vote will be held in the US Senate. A simple majority is needed to pass — and that we have. Big question is whether newly minted US Senator from West Virginia Joe Manchin will show up to vote.

This DADT vote today was historic. If new US Senator Joe Manchin had shown up to vote and done the right thing, cloture would have been achieved with 64 rather than 63 votes. But he didn’t even vote.

This morning I sent this note out to about 7,000 people: Dear Friends & Colleagues: Senator Harry Reid has committed himself to a cloture vote on repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the US Senate. The partner stand alone bill has already passed the US House of Representatives.

This note just in from University of Pennsylvania Professor of Law and administration adviser on DADT Tobias Barrington Wolff: Senator Jim Webb is speaking on the Senate floor at this very moment in support of repeal, after having voted against it in the Armed Services Committee and after refusing for years to endorse repeal.

Senator Carl Levin has been along with Senator Joe Lieberman a stalwart, unyielding force supporting the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Saturday, December 18, 2010 Levin Floor Statement on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

The other evening, I spent some time discussing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell with Senator Joe Manchin and his wife. Democratic super donor Connie Milstein did the same.

The New START Treaty isn’t just about a bilateral arrangement with Russians to keep their and our nuclear warheads under tight management. It is really about momentum in reversing the dramatic erosion of controls on a whole range of WMD materials.

This clip captures Julian Assange’s recent release on bail from British prison — and I must say that I’m very impressed by how he is managing his public profile.

See how American culture is spreading around the world today? — Steve Clemons