the premise

i was just reading about the dead at steve gillard's blog (the permilink doesn't seem to work, just scroll down until you find the "about the dead" title if the link doesn't jump you there). it's a really good post about the effect of the rising death toll from iraq on the psychology of this country. i think he does a good job of showing why mounting casualties for this ridiculous war in iraq may actually help, not harm, the president:

There is a reason no candidate for President, not Dean, not Kerry, could tell people the truth about Iraq, that we cannot fix it, we cannot make it better with more troops. People wouldn't accept it, they wouldn't believe that we could engage in such folly. Americans want to believe in their government, regardless of politics. They do not want to believe that the President could be so foolhardy, so indifferent to American lives.

unfortunately, i think he is right. which means that the ultimate premise of a democratic system--that voters will hold elected leaders responsible for their mistakes--is flawed when it comes to something like war. at least this war.

(p.s. how can the blogger spell-checker not recognize the word "blog"?!?!?!)