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In an unprecedented move, the United States' top two Pentagon officials are speaking out in support of repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that allows gays to serve in the military, but only if they keep quiet about their sexual orientation.

The statements by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are provoking mixed reaction, including changes of heart by some prominent voices in the long-running debate over the policy.

We're looking at perspectives from MSNBC, FOX News, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the Huffington Post.

In 2004,  Senator John McCain, a decorated veteran, said that if military leaders came to him and said they support reversing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, then he'd consider it. But as MSNBC reports, he's now against that idea.

"Numerous military leaders tell me that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is working and that we should not change it now. I agree."

McCain is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, before which Mullen and Gates were testifying. The senator insists their views do not represent those of the military officers he hears from. But commentators on MSNBC called out McCain for flip-flopping on the issue.

"That's a dumb distinction to make. He said in that clip from Hardball, If the military leaders come to me and say this should be done, then I would be for it. The military leaders went before the Armed Servies Committee yesterday and said this should be done."

Meanwhile, retired Gen. Colin Powell, says he's changed his position and now favors a repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Powell was chairman of the joint chiefs and proposed the policy as a compromise when President Bill Clinton moved in 1993 to lift an ban on gays in the military.

The Washington Post says  Powell's change of heart could have significant impact.

“Backing from Powell provides the current military leadership with significant additional support. A registered Republican who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, he threw his support to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in October 2008.”

Gates told the armed services panel that he's ordering a year-long study of the impact of changing the policy.  A.B. Stoddard, associate Editor for TheHill.com, tells FOX News' Bret Baier that she thinks opponents like McCain are reacting too swiftly.

“We’re talking about a decision Congress would make only after a study was done and then opponents can cry foul then, but it hasn’t been made now."

Powell says he supports repeal of the policy because circumstances and attitudes have changed significantly since 1993.  An editorial in the The San Francisco Chronicle says that recent polling shows Americans' attitudes about gays serving in the military and Congress should heed those numbers.

"These polling numbers - and basic decency - should embolden both Congress and the White House to end a policy that forces men and women to compromise their honesty to stay in uniform."

The Huffington Post says Republicans who have avoided taking a stand on the policy by deferring to military leaders will now have to stake a position.

"The conundrum facing all of these Republican leaders is simple: coming out against the repeal of the DADT policy now would represent a de facto admission that the opinions of the military brass never really mattered in the first place."

So should Congress repeal the law and allow gays to serve openly in the military?

Writer: Erika Roberts

Producer: Nathan Giannini