This has been a pet issue of Rangel’s for some time. He went to Korea as a young soldier and I’m left to conclude that he found it to be a good experience…

Intellectually, I can accept the notion that Americans would go to war with a bit more seriousness if we had a draft. However, I think the price is too high- and what’s more, the generals don’t want it.

I have to say I might begin to respect the mavericks in the democratIC party and it appears there may be quite a few.

Nancy is going to have her hands full.

And, this war on terror isn’t going to end any time soon. I think we need more boots on the ground during war, and in my opinion, this is war.

Then, I think about women. I’m still not sure I agree with women being drafted. Somebody has to take care of the kids and we can’t force women to leave their kids, can we? Let’s face it, men don’t get pregnant.

And, I think of the quality of the current volunteer army which has far superior entrance requirements than any before it. That would surely deteriorate but then again I imagine it’s amazing what a good drill sergeant can do.

And, then again, it would probably cut down on the number of illegal immigrants in this country as they flee back across the border.

Israel does it. Even Norway does it. I nearly fell over when I read that Norway does, but it’s true, for men.

I dunno…there might be merit to Rangel’s proposal but of course he’s doing it for all the wrong reasons.

Wow, that’s rich. Of course we have had a draft many times in our history and it was rarely conservatives who opposed it.

Look, very few Democrats support the draft. As you note the volunteer does fairly well in getting a mix of incomes and races but it does not impress on all Americans the shared responsibility of protecting our country. In this respect I think Rangel is right- support for the invasion of Iraq has dropped from about 80% to about 40%. I question whether those 40% who changed their minds would have supported this war if they knew that their own relatives and friends would be on the line. I don’t think that is an unreasonable standard for evaluating the justness of an invasion.