April Fool's Blowback

When I wrote an April Fool’s article claiming to have discovered the Democrats’ new super-pro-war strategy, I mostly got the desired result: outrage, followed by recognition of the joke with some lingering outrage. But I also got a call from a corporate reporter who knew it was a joke but who thought hyper-militarism was a terrific idea for the Democrats. Did I think they should do what my joke article advised and talk up the wars, expand the wars, keep the wars going? Well, only if morality and legality were out the window, I replied. If, I said, we simply didn’t give a damn about human life, then one electoral argument would run in that direction, but another would recognize the likelihood of more and more disillusioned voters staying home or even breaking free from partisan loyalty. Well, the bit about morality was obviously of zero interest. Here’s what resulted:

Obama embraces the trappings of a war presidency
By: Julie Mason
Examiner White House Correspondent
April 4, 2010

For a speech last week on energy policy, the White House arranged President Obama in front of a fighter jet at Andrews Air Force Base.

In a rally at Bagram Airfield in his first trip as president to Afghanistan, Obama wore an Air Force One leather bomber jacket, telling the cheering troops, “You inspire me.”

WIth two wars progressing reasonably well and a tough campaign ahead of him, the administration is highlighting Obama’s national security credentials — not traditionally a strong point for Democrats.

“They would be smart to do it,” said Clark Ervin, a national security expert at the Aspen Institute and former Bush administration official. “Iraq and Afghanistan are looking like successes right now, and it all goes counter to the general narrative that Democrats are soft on war.”

Read more at the Washington Examiner.

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