There are 2415 – two regiments - of American dead and 17,894 wounded in the President’s splendid little war. We have to be proud of ourselves. More and more of the seriously wounded are coming home from the second Iraqi War with broken bodies and fractured minds. Medical advances have reduced the death rate of combat. Is that good news? Not if you are a budget planner dealing with military spending. It is much cheaper to bury a 20 year old soldier than to provide that same soldier with lifetime medical care and prosthesis from time to time when Johnny and Janey come marching home.

It is, as the President’s father used to say, a problem with the vision thing. This President has visions of war and deficits reaching as far as the eye can see and beyond. Disabled vets on every corner just push the debt that much higher. The beauty of a Presidency limited to 8 years is that you don’t have to worry about paying off the debt that you run up. It is the next guy’s problem or that of the guy after that. Like Jerry Ford you can concentrate on golf.

What future does the Bush administration and the Republican Congressional Majority promise us? It is the promise of perpetual war and deficit replicating until the horizon is red with blood and red ink. That is the overriding issue for the American people in this election year. It is not gay marriage for the couple down the street that you don’t even know. It is not making sure that little Susie on the next block will carry her child to term, It isn’t ending Susie’s career as a welfare mother, It is whether the electorate will re-up for another two years stained by red blood and red ink. Bismarck promised the Kaiser Blood and Iron. What does George Bush promise this time?