IMO - He was free to ask whatever he wanted and people were free to boo him. And I say this with a Daughter and Son in law both in the USAF and having done tours in the sandbox.
They did not boo his service, they booed his demand for invented sexual rights that are now being forced on the military. He’s a soldier and I respect that and his service totally. I have nothing but disdain for him putting his sex practices over that service. What of the straight soldiers? They will be drummed out if they say anything against homosexuality publicly? Is it not up to us to defend THEM?
As to what is achieved, I would submit that such a forum is the only way the public will ever see just how disgusted we are with the gay agenda because the news censors all opposition. In that live situation, it was all but impossible without such censorship being noted and discussed further.
And Bush wasn't saying "Mission Accomplished" regarding Iraq but about one ship, and Reagan wasn't laying a wreath to honor Nazism, and Star Wars wasn't about Reagan bringing weapons into space.
FIghting this straw man of "they did not boo his service" may make you feel good, but it has nothing to do with perception and reality.
People don't like to see American soldiers booed. Period.
What of the straight soldiers? They will be drummed out if they say anything against homosexuality publicly? Is it not up to us to defend THEM?
What does that have to do with anything? Are straight soldiers now being drummed out for saying they're straight?
Straight soldiers can take care of themselves. Gay soldiers can, too. I guess I just feel that putting their lives on the line for my benefit--yes, gay people are defending your life, just as straight people are--means I owe them more than can ever be repaid. Letting them have their say and then letting the candidates reply (I don't recall any of them defending gays in their responses) with respect for all involved doesn't seem like something that's hurting straight soldiers.
The point, as opposed to all this smoke and mirrors, is that I don't support American soldiers only if they express the same opinions as I hold.
As the son of a veteran and someone who has a relative over in Iraq for his third go-round, I guess I'm overly sensitive to letting these brave and sometimes gay people have the floor without my booing them for expressing an opinion I don't share. I think it's called "manners".