President Obama campaigned hard on the theme of change last year, but the longer he occupies the White House, the more evident it is that there's not quite as much of that prized commodity on offer as a lot of Americans would like, myself inlcuded.

Exhibit number one for today: This item, from Huffington Post, which underlines that Obama is about to fire his first gay Arabic linguist. Yes, indeed, Obama has the option of suspending gay discharges with a "stroke-of-the-pen":

Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

Some readers might think it unfair to blame Obama. After all, the president inherited the "don't ask, don't tell" law when he took office. As Commander-in-Chief, he has to follow the law. If the law says that the military must fire any service member who acknowledges being gay, that is not Obama's fault.

Or is it?

A new study, about to be published by a group of experts in military law, shows that President Obama does, in fact, have stroke-of-the-pen authority to suspend gay discharges. The "don't ask, don't tell" law requires the military to fire anyone found to be gay or lesbian. But there is nothing requiring the military to make such a finding. The president can simply order the military to stop investigating service members' sexuality.

An executive order would not get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" law, but would take the critical step of suspending its implementation, hence rendering it effectively dead....

Apparently, it's Jon Huntsman. Via US News & World Report's Political Bulletin:

US News Weekly, in its Washington Whispers column, reports, "When it comes to 2012, there's no potential Republican opponent who makes" former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe "shake in his shoes," though Utah Gov. Jon huntsman (R) makes him a "wee bit queasy." Plouffe says, "I think he's really out there and speaking a lot of truth about the direction of the party."

This is, in my opinion, a pretty noteworthy thing. Plouffe was the architect of a campaign that I have tremendous respect for, having worked on the opposing side of it last year. If Huntsman worries him, even a little, that's something I'd say is a big endorsement for Huntsman as a could-be 2012 contender, and something that sets him well apart from the rest of the (presumptive) field.

Now, I know conservatives who don't like Huntsman much. I must admit, I'm a little confused as to why, when some of those who I've heard express a dislike for him are people who say they prioritize fiscal concerns above all else and Huntsman got a 60/B rating from CATO last year on their fiscal report card-- a better score than all but four governors out of 46 assessed-- and a 59/B rating from CATO in 2006-- again a better score than all but four governors out of those assessed. These conservatives will probably try to argue that Plouffe saying that Huntsman is speaking "a lot of truth about the direction of the party" is a way of Plouffe saying he agrees with Huntsman, philosophically, or that Huntsman is somehow one of those who's a party-attacker, as opposed to a party-builder....

Readers will know that in addition to posting on politics, I occasionally post on sports, too. Usually, I'll focus on Premiership football (and specifically Arsenal-- go Gunners!) when sportsblogging. But today, I've got another sport I'd like to focus on ever so briefly: Women's ski jumping.

This is not a sport I watch like a hawk or am overly familiar with. Nor is it a sport I currently participate in, or ever intend to participate in. It's way too scary for my tastes. I remember when I was about ten standing on exactly the spot from which ski jumpers propelled themselves during the 1988 Calgary Olympics (photo taken from roughly that spot available here) and being scared to death. But full credit and hats off to those (men and women) who have the intestinal fortitude to do this kind of thing.

Not that there's a level playing field, though: It turns out that women can't compete in Olympic ski jumping, even though they're fighting to change that in advance of the Vancouver Olympics next year. From a post by self-described Olympics junkie, Ron Judd, from the site of my hometown newspaper, the Seattle Times, comes this:

Looking in from the outside, John Furlong looks to me to be a pretty smart guy.

The CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee has dodged more than a few bullets (sorry; no pun intended, Vancouverites) in assembling the team that's getting ready to host the world for the 2010 WInter Olympics, which will launch in Vancouver and Whistler only 10 months from now.

That's why I don't get where things stand with the lawsuit women's ski jumpers have filed to force their way into the Games. ...