We’ve seen a majority party grow weary of a President and impeach them twice (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton). History will judge those actions as frivolous and spiteful. But we have another history, too. A history of failed military enterprises. The first failure was the failure to avoid the secession of the Confederacy. That led Lincoln to run on a National Unity ticket with the aforementioned Andrew Johnson. The next crisis came with the stalemate of the Korean War. Harry S Truman did not seek re-election. The nation chose a truly unifying personality in Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Vietnam and waning health kept LBJ from seeking re-election, and the defeat in Vietnam provided an essential backdrop to the downfall of Richard Milhous Nixon.
It is written into the fabric of our history as a nation that administrations (and their parties) that land us in unprofitable armed conflict do not get to remain on in power. We’ve dealt with the aftermath in different ways. After the Civil and Korean Wars we turned to the victorious generals, Grant and Eisenhower. After Vietnam we turned to the sunny optimism of Ronald Reagan. The country, for the most part, seemed satisfied to go back to sleep. Now we have another point in our history where momentous decisions will have to be made. What shall we do with our President and Vice-President?
Can we piece together some kind of National Unity ticket? Can we preempt the need for that by installing a National Unity caretaker government that will only serve out the remainder of this administration’s term?
Is there someone available to take the unifying place held by Grant, Eisenhower, and Reagan?
It’s time for people to be grown-ups. It’s time to start considering a change in government. If we don’t do something very soon, we may get an answer to Billmon’s question.
All along, I’ve had the sneaking suspicion that the choices in Iraq would ultimately boil down to mass butchery or defeat. But, as the above post indicates, over the years I’ve become progressively less certain what the ultimate decision would be — and whether and when the American military would flinch from the implications of that choice.
Next year may be the year we find out.
And history will never forgive us if we choose butchery.