St. John Loves Constant War

E.J. Dionne, Jr. has a useful column for the Democratic presidential candidates in today's Post. The basic thrust of Dionne's argument is that Obama and/or Clinton should not hesistate in critiquing McCain's view, and the neoconservatives (which McCain is, in fact, now among), that terrorism comprises the greatest struggle the U.S. has faced since the Cold War. Dionne argues, in effect, that McCain places too much emphasis on terrorism and too little on other foreign policy dilemmas. He lists strained relations between Latin America and the U.S. and poverty in Africa among others as issues that deserve more focus. It seems to me that reducing poverty aound the world would restore much of the goodwill the rest of the planet use to have for America. Needless to say, if America adopted a foreign policy guided more by humility and compassion, it would do more to combat terrorism than a million-man army.

Tuesday White Man's Burden Blogging

Bill Kristol's latest column in the Times is a joke. In fact, calling it a joke is probably too kind. In his column, Kristol argues that Democrats would be much better off if they read Rudyard Kipling. I mean, what? He envisions the Republicans as the heirs to Kipling, whereas the Democrats are the opposition. Kipling, while a talented writer, was a rascist bigot and an imperialist. In his defense, Kristol does briefly mention that Kipling was "politically incorrect." However, that's like saying the Joker has a screw loose.

Go Vote!

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, has just contacted me with a request for all you Wisconsin people out there. He would like you to support democracy and vote! I really don't want the Avengers coming after me, plus Steve is a really good guy, so please go and vote!