Norm Singleton makes a great point: That the Rs and Ds seem to reflexively and impulsively fight wars, what he calls the "perpetual war."

Yes, I hear that. The nation's leaders don't learn the lesson of Korea, so they pause and but then come back to Vietnam. Iraq I was waged, but they've not ventilated their impulse to dominate, so back again the US goes to Iraq for a second time.

But it ain't just the pols. The public buys the war at first, then after the body bags start to mount, they pressure the pols to bring the boys (and now girls) home.

A shrink might call this classic addictive and enabling behavior, and here I'd agree. Politicians are "addicted" to power, and they seem to want to show it off in tangible ways, hence the propensity to wage war. The "public" enable this, and somehow or other take a certain glee in proving the demon enemy "wrong," and we innocent Americans "right."

It all spins out of control, the pols getting increasingly drunk with their power. Benders can be quite ugly things. The public sees that, and recoils in disgust. Like the alcoholic and their families, the public starts to remember all the misrepresentations and lies the drunken pols told them. The pols dry out...for a while.

That's where we are in this sick cycle. The Ds taking Congress represents the public choosing a dryer period...for now. Unless some major event comes to the fore, my sense is the perpetual war is in a "truce" phase.

Jefferson saw this. It's IMO the real meaning of the "eternal vigilance" that liberty lovers must maintain. Power addicts never seem to get that power is the problem, not the solution. They need to be called on it, day by day, year by year, generation by generation.

That's the deal.

-Robert Capozzi