An interesting comparison:
In 1948, Truman issued an executive order integrating the armed forces. That same year Gallup found that only 13 percent of Americans supported "having Negro and white troops throughout the U.S. armed services live and work together."
Today, vast majorities of Americans support allowing gay servicemembers to serve openly. But the first black president does not have the civil rights conviction of his extraordinary predecessor.
2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan