[nopardons]

You remember WWII as a child, forgetting, or never knowing about the N.Y.Times' deification and whitewash of " "Uncle Joe ". I was too little , back then, to remember anything much about it; however, I know what it was like from a wee child's perspective, family stories, and extensive reading. And NO, there were Bundists, isolationists, Commies, and yes, the sheeple of that day, who were against us being in WW II...even AFTER Pearl Harbor!

I used the " best and the brightest " line, because it was sheer propaganda then, as it is now. It is as accurate, as your supposed " metaphor ". I was almost an adult/an adult during the JFK/LBJ times and I have a better grasp and memory of all that, than obviously you do.

I've been a political/news junkie, since I was a toddler. My mother did that to me, and it stuck. Not only were my immediate family, but my extended family and almost all of their friends the same, but I imagined, growing up, that EVERYONE else was just like us too. How wrong I was. LOL

War, the kind fought by suicide bombers, is nothing new to America.

Anarchists/Socialists/Marxists/Communists have been pulling this stuff, here, RIGHT HERE, ON OUR SOIL, for the past 100+ years, with interludes of quiescence. Lincoln, FDR, and Wilson, stamped all over the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, during wartimes past.Lefty " intellectuals ", Hollywood " stars ", Broadway performers and writers went to bat for Sacco and Vanzetti ( sp ? ), long before you and I were even a gleam in our respective fathers' eyes, let alone either one of us being alive. The only thing to have changed is technology.

Generals shouldn't be president/make major policy; they aren't equipped to do so. Wes Clark is an example of this, as were Grant,and even Ike. Washington was a true Renaissance man, so let's leave him out of that mix. :-)

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Very thoughtful reply. I am curious. One thing I've prided myself on is my memory. Just what is it in my description of the those days that is in error? The "best and brightest?" The "best and brightest" term was never used as a pejorative term except by those of us who were not fond of Kennedy. It was Ivy league. It was Kennedy. It was part of Camelot.