Last Monday my column included a quote from a Capitol Hill insider who worried that the Obama administration might be dragging its heels on repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“I’m getting the sense they will try to ignore this as long as possible and then they will maybe trot out some commission to delay it another year if they are forced to do anything,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Of course, a reporter is only as good as her sources and neither journalists nor their sources are infallible.

So when reports began to emerge Monday afternoon that President Barack Obama might include “don’t ask, don’t tell” in his State of the Union speech, I wondered if perhaps movement had begun that several of my sources had not picked up on.

During his speech, Obama did in fact state his intent to “work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”

But how this would happen and within what time frame was left open — until this weekend. Saturday, the Associated Press reported, “The Defense Department starts the clock next week on what is expected to be a several-year process in lifting its ban on gays from serving openly in the military.”

The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, portrayed a similar process that begins with an investigation into repeal: “That upcoming inquiry — and, ultimately, the end of the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' ban — could take years to complete, officials have recently suggested.”

Interestingly, Monday’s New York Times piece -- presumably sourced by a White House aide rather than the Pentagon officials who seemed to inform the reporting of both the AP and The Hill — avoided time lines and instead painted a resolute picture of the commander in chief.