See you later, alligator.

The political debate over the question of gays in the military seems to be working its way toward the position favored by Senator Sam Nunn: "Don't ask, don't tell." The Nunn policy would not require servicemen to testify to their heterosexuality upon enlistment, and it would end investigations of suspected homosexuals in the ranks. But open homosexuality would still be against the rules, and gays who made their gayness public would face discharge.

This is described as a compromise, though it would represent a sharp, short-term rebuke to both Mr. Clinton and the gay lobby. They thought they could force homosexuality on the military with the stroke of a pen. The blizzard of negative reactions from brass, servicemen, and the public is forcing them to back down. And the Nunn policy, neither hostile to homosexuals nor endorsing homosexuality, is legitimate and defensible.

But backing down is not the same as backing off, and efforts to integrate open homosexuals into the armed services will continue and - unless forth-rightly resisted - may well succeed over the long run. What, under the Nunn rules, would constitute "telling"? Coming out to your unit? What about off-base housing arrangements? Moving in with a same-sex partner is not itself a declaration of homosexuality, of course, but it could be turned into one by winks and nudges. And how the courts might interpret such rules is utterly unpredictable.

If gay activists have patience, they might over time get themselves into uniform. That is not what most gay activists are interested in; their goal, all along, has been to remove a source of formal social disapprobation. If the public and the services conclude that the structure of compromises has become too unwieldy, they might achieve that in time too. But not necessarily. They will have been unable to win this time even with the President's and the media's support, and the new policy, being less punitive, will be less easy to assail. The price of not telling, however, will be eternal vigilance.