A Sistah Souljah Opportunity

Peter Beinart, proving once again that he is the smartest Democratic strategist out there, has an excellent suggestion for Hillary: embrace the USSC's unanimous decision in the Solomon case and take the lead on bringing the ROTC back to elite campuses, beginning with Columbia University in her adopted home state. Like her hubby's "Sistah Souljah Moment," taking on the extreme left wing of the Democratic party to endorse a decidedly centrist (and popular) pro-defense position would gain her a lot of credibility with the middle-of-the-road voters she will need to attract if she wants to actually be elected President. (Hell, leadership on this issue might even persuade me that under certain circumstances (say, if the Republicans were to lose their collective minds and nominate Pat Buchanan or George Pataki) that even I might vote for her.)

Of course, taking a step like this (even though it has nothing to do with supporting the war in Iraq) would only further inflame the Kossacks and Deaniacs who are already off-put by Hillary's relative sanity on defense issues. But is there a better issue out there for her to forcefully establish her credibility as someone who can be trusted to defend this country from our enemies? I doubt it.