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No matter what happens in the next year and a half (to the serious 08 campaign season), the notion of the office of the President as the Commander in Chief will be there, always at or just under the surface.
While most of America think this war in Iraq is nothing short of a disaster - maybe even the greatest foreign policy disaster in our history - the idea of war and terror and Iran and and all the other crap that got vomited all over us for the last six years will still be operative notions. The next president will, in some measure (and I suspect some large measure), be chosen on the basis of his or her fitness to be a *real* Commander in Chief.
This is not to say that the country will be looking for a bully or a bellicose asshole (although you can bet the house that *some* will). They will, however, be looking for a person who can wield a wise and steady hand on our nation's security.
Say what you will (I'll refrain), but a pre-UN speech Colin Powell type would be a reasonable model. So would a Jack Kennedy. Or an Eisenhower. Maybe even a George McGovern, if only he would relent and use his war record this time. I cite these examples not based on politics or specific actions (like My Lai and the UN speech in Powell's case), but based on the popular view of the person.
Wise and steady hands.
The George Bush years will be over and the country as a whole will be glad to see him gone, glad to see him slink away as the failure he is.
But the issues will remain and the mess he created will need attention.
Sad to say, but we'll still be looking for a Commander in Chief.
A REAL one, this time.
Personally, I see this as a major filter through which our best hopes for the 08 cycle must pass.
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