No blood for __________

I said before that, try as I might, I can't seem to find another main reason for the war than oil. But it occurred to me a couple of nights ago--what if the main drive behind the war isn't oil, but reelection? Everyone, regular wisdom goes, loves a wartime president. And those who don't can easily be labeled America-hating, freedom-scorning, Hussein-loving communists. Err, I mean terrorists.

Sure, it seems like a risky path to take in a push for reelection, but I truly don't think that Bush and those who have his ear thought the risks to be meaningful in any way. In fact, the White House & Co. seemed taken aback that there was some Iraqi resistance instead of open arms and parties (note to Fleischer, Rumsfeld, et al.: people tend to get grumpy when they see foreign tanks rolling into their country, no matter what the stated aims are).

Support for the war was tenuous at best before the war. Most Americans wanted the US to go through the UN. Bush's solution? Present the country with fait accompli. Once the war was under way, people would rally around the President, they guessed, and the gamble paid off. Bush can now call himself a wartime president (he did manufacture the war, but people don't seem to mind anymore) and run basically unopposed. What about, you say, the Democrats? Opposition Democrats--opposition anythings these days are about as common as the tooth fairy.

Things I Want For My Birthday

Not to be confused with Anesly's All-Occasion, Ever-Growing Wishlist O'Fun! (please note that the exclamation mark is an integral part of the name).

1. A more or less permanent job
2. Season 3 of Buffy and/or Season 1 of Angel (which features the goofy Angel dance)
3. Money (see #1)

I will be holding my birthday around April 12 this year. We now return you to your regularly scheduled political and world event hand-wringing.