When Did Bob McDonnell Become the Rational Republican?

I've come to expect that Republicans will try to undo any piece of legislation passed through Congress by some form of nullification. They tried it with healthcare by passing laws making it illegal to require anyone to buy health insurance. However, you would have thought that DADT was pretty safe in that it involves the military, which Congress clearly has the constitutional power to legislate (then again, Michele Bachmann claimed that the Census was unconstitutional). Not so fast. Delegate Bob Marshall of the Virginia House of Delegates is drafting legislation that would ban homosexual service members from serving in the Virginia National Guard. Here is his reasoning:

This policy will weaken military recruitment and retention, and will increase pressure for a military draft,'' Marshall said. "After 232 years of prohibiting active, open homosexuals from enlisting in our military, President Obama and a majority in Congress are conducting a social experiment with our troops and our national security...In countries where religions and cultures find homosexual acts immoral, the Obama administration's repeal policy will work to the detriment of all American troops in securing local cooperation with our nation's foreign policy goals.

That's a lot of conclusory statements without any mention of the military's report showing it will have no effect, the support of almost 2/3 of the US Senate, the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the support of the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of Defense, and polls showing over 70% of Americans support the repeal. Enter Governor Bob McDonnell. Yes, that Governor Bob McDonnell. The one who wrote a thesis asserting that women working outside the home was detrimental. He still opposes repealing the ban but has agreed to follow the federal policy:

"The governor is a retired United States Army officer, and he knows it is critically important that there be one set of rules for all our men and women in the military, since uniformity of major policy across all branches is essential to effective operations,'' McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said. "We are not aware of a single instance in recent history where the Virginia National Guard has not complied with the policies and procedures of the Department of Defense. Furthermore, approximately 90 percent of the Virginia Guard's funding is federal, and any departure from federal policies may put this funding at risk. The federal legislation contemplates a further certification process by the Department of Defense, and other details and steps that are not known at this time. In his role as commander in chief of the Virginia National Guard, Governor McDonnell expects the Guard to adhere to the final guidelines implemented by the Department of Defense."

Governor McDonnell hasn't really made a good argument why he is opposed to repealing the ban, but at least he's sticking up to the radical fringe in the State House. I never thought he would be even this moderate after his campaign for governor.