E Pluribus Unum

Once upon a time (circa 1949), a very young Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote these words:

Free society and totalitarianism today struggle for the minds and hearts of men...If we believe in free society hard enough to keep on fighting for it, we are pledged to a permanent crisis which will test the moral, political and very possibly the military strength of each side.

Back in those days, Republicans like Joe McCarthy talked a good game about the Communist menace, but when it came to actually doing something about it, well, that was a different story.

Schlesinger again:

An important segment of business opinion still hesitates to undertake a foreign policy of the magnitude necessary to prop up a free world against totalitarianism lest it add a few dollars to the tax rate.

The fact is, since 9/11, Pres. Bush has not increased the size of the military. He can't -- his tax cuts have been too deep and the deficits too large. And if anything, the military has gotten smaller, thankyouverymuch Secretary Rumsfeld.

So in a lot of ways, we're re-living the Republican vision of the late 40's and early 50's. Except now they control everything in Washington.

Now before I tell you what I think, I want you to tell me what you think this means for Democrats.