Absent hip-deep involvement in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain would have had the resources available to commit FAR more troops and brown-water naval forces to North America, both British forces and continental mercenary units. As it was, the War of 1812 was not one of America's more glorious moments--and it was bad enough that it could be described (loosely) as a war of national survival for America. Had it been on London's front burner, it would have turned into a REAL war of national survival, with a high chance of unfavorable outcome.
There's a precautionary tale in the War of 1812 for statesmen everywhere: if you're going to deliberately start a war, make sure you can win it. But in a nation with as messianic a teleology as we have, serious introspection and study of history is not ever going to happen--especially when you consider the fact that the war was started by the DemocRATS.
WRT:
But in a nation with as messianic a teleology as we have, serious introspection and study of history is not ever going to happen--especially when you consider the fact that the war was started by the DemocRATSI aree. This was one of the contributing reasons for my writing of my book, Dragon's Fury - Breath of Fire.