DRAFT RUMORS

This blogger asked me to help him spread the word about a supposedly neutral but actually Kerry-slanted flyer distributed on campuses. I don't have time at the moment to form my own judgment but you can.

There are some articles promoting the draft rumor.

If the editorial writers of the New York Times are talking about a new draft that would send young men and women to die in the deserts of Iraq fighting crazy religious fanatics, then the idea is certainly being whispered about in the upper echelons of American society. A draft would not be proposed before the election -- if it were, Bush would be wiped out in a landslide. But a wise person would not bet against the draft being proposed next January.

I have a friend in the military who insisted with great vehemence that the military hates the idea of the draft. "Everything we do is based on people wanting to be here," he said. The volunteer army has been winning wars; the last conscript army we had lost one.

If anyone would implement a draft, I think Kerry would be more likely to do it than Bush. Kerry is starting to look ever more Nixonesque, after all, insisting that we will stay in a war that he considers a mistake. He mentioned sending troops to Sudan; Bush didn't. And Bush has mostly kept his campaign promises so far, even the bad ones like steel tariffs and the prescription drug benefit. Bush highly values trust, and keeps his word. And he's a party builder, who knows that a draft would destroy the Republican base. Kerry, on the other hand, reverses himself, morally compromises himself right and left, and is a poor tactician who is always getting himself into jams.

Follow the pattern here. Kerry opposed Reagan. Now he quotes him. Kerry supported the Patriot Act. Now he's against it. Kerry opposed the tax cut. Now he wants more tax cuts for the middle class. Kerry supported the war in Iraq. Now he's against it. Kerry opposed the $87 billion for the troops. Now he's sort of for it. Kerry opposes the draft...