When I woke up this morning, I intended to just make this about Hillary Clinton, the war-monger, in contrast to Barack Obama, the peace-monger. That's because I agree with the Jed Report assessment that Iraq is the central issue in Hillary Clinton's fall from grace.

After all, on one of her very first visits to New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton was as clear as could be:

"If the most important thing to any of you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote or has said his vote was a mistake, then there are others to choose from."

That's what I heard her say in Dover, New Hampshire in February of 2007. And then she followed that up with an indictment of one of Iran's military contingents in the following October, suggesting she's just itching for a fight.

That didn't sound encouraging to someone who supported and promoted the election of Carol Shea-Porter to the House on an anti-war plank. Even as, besides Dennis Kucinich, none of the other Democratic candidates were unequivocal proponents of peace.
John McCain's gleeful rendition of "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" didn't really define a distinction, either. It's sort of hard to credit a war-monger who's singing. But, oddly enough, it was George W. Bush's Memorial Day radio address that solidified the difference and even provided a clue where the war-mongerers, having dubbed our troops the "warfighters," are coming from.

"This Memorial Day, I ask all Americans to honor the sacrifices of those who have served you and our country. One way to do so is by joining in a moment of remembrance that will be marked across our country at 3:00 p.m. local time. At that moment, Major League Baseball games will pause, the National Memorial Day parade will halt, Amtrak trains will blow their whistles, and buglers in military cemeteries will play Taps. You can participate by placing a flag at a veteran's grave, taking your family to the battlefields where freedom was defended, or saying a silent prayer for all the Americans who were delivered out of the agony of war to meet their Creator. Their bravery has preserved the country we love so dearly."

That's how they justify sending other people's children off to be killed! Just as they were once delivered from their mother's womb, our warfighters are "delivered out of the agony of war to meet their Creator." What a splendid solution to the conundrum of how the deaths of thousands can be justified! They're off to meet their Creator!

If only the dead are honored, how's a peace-monger to compete?

On the other hand, perhaps those who scoffed at peace-keeping had a good point. There was/is no peace to be kept. Making peace is hard work. Which is why we need a peace-monger in the White House. And he's going to need all our help to keep the testosterone-addled war-mongers in check. Because, the reality is that the war-mongers LIKE a fight.