I’ve been a bit of a skeptic about the possibility of Bush bringing back a military draft, but John Kerry struck a reasonable note yesterday on the issue.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, citing the war in Iraq and other trouble spots in the world, raised the possibility Wednesday that a military draft could be reinstated if voters re-elect President Bush.
Kerry said he would not bring back the draft and questioned how fairly it was administered in the past.
Answering a question about the draft that had been posed at a forum with voters, Kerry said: “If George Bush were to be re-elected, given the way he has gone about this war and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, is it possible? I can’t tell you.”
While some news outlets suggested that Kerry argued Bush would bring back the draft, Kerry simply raised the possibility. Considering that the administration has already implemented a “stop-loss” program that forced military personnel from leaving active duty, and recalled troops who have already retired and received honorable discharges, forcing them into duty involuntarily, Kerry seems justified in raising the possibility of more mandatory service.
There are a lot of families out there with draft-age members. It’s not unreasonable to raise the prospect of a draft and let voters consider the issue.
I’m struck, by the way, by Bush’s response to the draft question.
“I get asked all the time, are you for the draft? The answer is, absolutely not.”
As a matter of substance, that’s a fine answer. But I can’t help but wonder, who asks Bush about this “all the time”? It’s never come up at a press conference, which he generally avoids anyway, and his loyal admirers rarely bring it up at the scripted “Ask the President” events. So who’s badgering Bush “all the time” with this question? White House aides? Secret Service agents? Who?