The Absurd Report

War and peace and the Democrats: The triumph of politics over national interest

The Bear on Jul 25 2008 at 8:26 am | Filed under: Politics

There was a time when Democrats spoke plainly and consistently about matters of war and peace. During the first half of the Cold War, their position was clear — they would “bear any burden” (John Kennedy’s words) to prosecute it. During the second half of the Cold War, chastened by Vietnam, their position was equally clear — no more Vietnams.

When this semipacifist position helped produce four lopsided defeats in five presidential elections, the party’s most savvy figures began to doubt the virtue, not of the position but of the clarity. The trick became finding a way to appeal to both the party’s leftist base and the more hawkish centrists, including Reagan Democrats, who kept electing Republican presidents. This meant talking out of both sides of the mouth.
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This year the Democrats have nominated another war and peace prevaricator. And they have outdone themselves. Clinton, Gore and Kerry took only two positions each on Iraq. As Peter Wehner has documented, Obama has held nearly every possible position.