WAR: I have little to add to Kevin Drum's first-rate post, WARTIME, except to say that I've often wondered over the last few years why the Democrats in Congress haven't demanded a formal declaration of war against al Qaeda and its affiliates. First, it would allow the Dems to both look tough and be tough, something that could only help at election time. Second, a formal declaration would do much to lift the vaguely unpleasant odor around Washington these days, the one that smells just a little bit like a state of emergency. And, finally, it would establish not just a state of war, but also a state of normalcy to which the nation could someday expect to return.

Sure, declaring war on a transnational organization is a pretty radical idea. But, as our Republican friends like to say, the world changed on 9-11. We, as a nation and a party, need to start changing with it.