How’s that again?

Kerry attacks the President for mistreating the soldiers. How does that become insulting the soldiers?

John Kerry calls the expansion of the stop-loss program a violation of the spirit of an all-volunteer military and “a back-door draft.”

The AP’s Nedra Pickler (perhaps with help from the Bush campaign?) finds someone to criticize Kerry:

Retired Navy Adm. Thomas Morris said Kerry’s suggestion is “an insult to the wonderful volunteer service we have in the military and the wonderful people we have serving.”

Pickler, who is notorious for inserting silly carping criticisms whenever she quotes a Democrat, doesn’t seem to be bothered by the utter illogic of what Morris said. How is Kerry’s criticism of the President “an insult” to anyone but the President and the people working for him?

The rest of the story is worth reading. Kerry has what seem like serious ideas about managing the military (outlined in this campaign fact sheet). And he has Adm. Crowe and Gen. Shalikashvili signed up for his national security team.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com