Excellent commentary by Michael Shank, senior policy adviser to Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA-15). Sober, serious, point by point critique of administration’s counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

Passing DADT repeal is only the beginning of a long process of bringing the Pentagon regulations and systems into conformity with the new law. This will take a while.

I have seen Senator Joe Manchin out on the holiday party circuit in Washington and did have a very full conversation with him about DADT at one particularly high powered evening — but parties are not the same as voting on nationally significant legislation. This just in from Politico‘s Ben Smith though.

Those in favor of cloture and opposed to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (63): Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brown (R-MA) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Coons (D-DE) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA)…

This delightful reflection on the coming demise of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was sent in to me just now by Georgetown University professor JP Singh: DADT sat on a wall DADT had a great fall and all Palin’s horses and all McCain’s men could not put DADT back together again.

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.