helena kagan said when a court of appeals had struck down that law that she applied the rule to the militarythe military couldn't come on campus. she said in a very personal tone that she really believed in equality. she also explained that the reason she cared so much about this is she wanted gays to be able to serve in the military. it was a sign of a respect to the military. she wasn't trying to keep people out of the military. this will play out. it's an important social issue. it does reflect that she cared a lot about discrimination against homosexuals. she tried to frame it in terms of her great respect for service. >> lehrer: do you expect that, karen, to play out as a big issue when the hearings actually begin, assuming it gets there? >> i think it will be aired but i think it will play out probably pretty quickly. i think the larger issue is the context under which she is going to serve on the court. if she is confirmed, she will come to the court at a moment when it is looking at a lot of obama administration policies and court challenges to them. things like challenges to the new