He’s pretty much doing whatever Barack Obama is doing these days.

This is a guy who supposedly opposed government intervention in the free market, made the case for invading Iraq, helped ratchet up the war on drugs, supports school vouchers and school choice, and advocated opening ANWR for oil exploration. And then went on to endorse the first black presidential nominee, despite the fact said nominee was a far-left liberal on 99% of issues.

Oh, and did I mention he opposed this move when Clinton tried it? Yeah…

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers on Tuesday that they supported President Obama’s proposal to repeal the 1993 law forbidding gay men and lesbians to be open about their sexuality while serving in uniform…

When Mr. Clinton tried to end the ban on gay soldiers, General Powell was the Joint Chiefs chairman and opposed the move on the grounds that it would undermine discipline and order in the military but he supported the “don’t ask” compromise. In his statement on Wednesday, General Powell said “the principal issue has always been the effectiveness of the Armed Forces and order and discipline in the ranks.”

Joint Chiefs chairman Powell under President Clinton: DADT will cause harm to the discipline of the United States military.

Retired Secretary Powell under President Obama: Hey, let’s repeal this sucker. Because that’d be awesome.

As for Secretary Gates, it’s a shame he’s been shown to be a hired hack. He was a strong advocate of Bush Administration policies until Obama came along. Now he’s on board with cutting defense spending and ending DADT. It appears he wouldn’t know convictions if they slapped him across the face.

Admiral Mike Mullen answers directly to Obama, and it would appear that dissent isn’t as well tolerated today as it was back in the 1990′s under Clinton. I wouldn’t question an administration known for dismissing voter intimidation suits against black nationalists or firing IG’s who investigate its friends.