Build up people. Yes. Is government the tool to use for this job? Michelle Obama thinks there is a “hole in our souls.” And her husband is the only one who can “heal” us. Sorry, but that's not what government is about. I hope that's not what it is going to come to. That's rainbows and unicorns kind of talk. If that's the way it's going, our Republic is dead.

In one sense, the question is kind of academic. We're heading into crisis. Which team will be better crisis managers? There ain't gonna be no building up wallets or people. It may come down to which one can help us avoid the most hurt. Which arrangement of deck chairs on this Titanic would you prefer?

As for Iraq, the intelligence was bad. Maybe other motives were bad. The plan was bad, or at least incomplete. Do you agree with the incursion in Afghanistan, though? Most Democrats seem to be saying they are/were unapologetically gung ho for Afghanistan, but not Iraq. I don't know what the position of the religious left is, even though I subscribed to Michael Lerner's Tikkun for a year. My guess is their response would be wave the white flag.

(I hope that in the present day, no one is waging war to spread the gospel. That's not my impression.)

I don't think there is any “negotiate” option with terror. We must continue to fight, but do it smarter. And cheaper. We simply can't afford what we're doing now.