In a Tuesday post, Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum, apropos of polls indicating increased support for stepped-up airstrikes against ISIS, commented that “Americans remain easily susceptible to the same kind of bloody-shirt waving that got us into the Iraq war in the first place,” and that so far, what’s “saved us is the fact that President Obama isn't a bloody-shirt waver.”
That said, Drum isn’t sure Obama can hold out against public opinion that may be goosed by “the usual gang of conservative jingoists” calling for war, given that “a full-blown military assault on a loathsome enemy like ISIS would almost certainly be a big campaign winner for Democrats this fall.”
From Drum’s post (emphasis added):
For years, the conventional wisdom has been that Americans are weary of war, and the conventional wisdom is largely correct. At the same time, it's always been obvious that Americans remain easily susceptible to the same kind of bloody-shirt waving that got us into the Iraq war in the first place. The only thing that's saved us is the fact that President Obama isn't a bloody-shirt waver. Even when he's initiated military action, his public persona has been quiet and reluctant.
But now we're seeing just how easy it is to whip Americans into a war frenzy yet again. Even with Obama striking his usual no-drama pose, the public is becoming increasingly belligerent. All it took was a carefully stagecrafted beheading video and the usual gang of conservative jingoists to exploit it. For now, the lack of presidential blood lust is holding back the tide—barely—but that's a thin reed. If Obama wanted to go to war, it would be the work of a moment to whip up a war frenzy in a solid majority of the country.
And just think about how tempting it must be. A full-blown military assault on a loathsome enemy like ISIS would almost certainly be a big campaign winner for Democrats this fall.
…Americans have historically gotten a little restless if they don't have a new war every four or five years, and it's been about that long since we pulled out of Iraq. Maybe we're due.
