Clinton Says ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy Has Failed

President Clinton admitted to leading gay and lesbian Democrats on Thursday that his “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for homosexuals in the military has failed and that the best way to change it is through the ballot box.

“We’re a long way from where we were in ‘92, when, to put it mildly, there were some fairly visceral responses to the positions that I took in the campaign,” Clinton told the group of about 50 who paid $10,000 each to attend a party-sponsored lunch with the president.

“It’s a very different world out there now,” Clinton said.

Later, after reporters were ushered from the room, Clinton gave a frank assessment of the shortcomings of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that went beyond his recent comments that the policy is “out of whack,” participants said.

“He said, in essence, this policy has been a failure,” said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group.

Clinton told his audience that they had to elect lawmakers who were sympathetic to gay and lesbian issues and who would push for a better policy for gays in the military.

Birch said she told Clinton during the session that he has “a very short window” to follow through on what she calls sincere rhetoric.

Other participants said Clinton was thoughtful but said there was little he can do legislatively to change the military policy.

Under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, gay members of the military can continue to serve--and their superiors cannot investigate or expel them--as long as they keep their sexual orientation to themselves.