BEING "POLITICAL" IN WARTIME

"Neither glib promises nor glib excuses will serve" -- Dwight Eisenhower, 1952 campaign speech.

In the next campaign season, we're going to hear a lot about how Democrats are "playing politics" with the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. The implication is that it is un-American or undignified to make war, its conduct, and its justification a topic of political contestation. As this weekend approaches and the Korean War is on the minds of veterans, their families, and those who care about such things and pay attention to them, it's worth reflecting on the 1952 presidential campaign, in which Dwight Eisenhower, Republican candidate for President, made it part of his set of campaign promises to "bring the troops home." And he followed through on that promise.

For my part, I don't believe that Democrats should follow Eisenhower's lead. The current administration has committed the U.S. to a policy of troops on the ground on Iraq, and if the country is not to succumb to complete disorder (which is not necessarily worse than dictatorship -- read Hobbes again!), there will have to be foreign troops on the ground for years to come. In the short run, because of the diplomatic errors of this administration, these troops are likely to be mostly from the U.S. In other words, the most irresponsible thing we could do now is pull out the troops and "bring them home."

Nonetheless, when Democrats attack the administration on the campaign trail for their mistakes in conception and execution in Iraq, and the administration replies in shocked tones that the Dems are "playing politics," Democrats merely need to think of Eisenhower's criticism of the Truman administration, and take heart that they are acting fully within the historically established limits of American democratic debate.

MORE: Dems use the "playing politics" line, too. I'm under no illusions here. I'm interested in one particular claim that has already made the rounds, though: that it is inappropriate to campaign on a policy of opposition to a sitting president's war policy. In fact, it is appropriate, necessary, and common throughout U.S. history. Whether or not it's wise is another question. It's less wise if you can't find a way out of the "playing politics" net.