On Sunday, I did a Bloggingheads episode with Business Insider‘s Michael Brendan Dougherty. We talked about MSNBC’s Chris Hayes remarks about heroism and the military, Obama’s use of targeted killing, Romney’s conservatism, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on serving soda in containers larger than 16 ounces.
My point was that although the military is seen as apolitical and nonpartisan, in practice military leaders can be very adept at political maneuvering, whether we’re talking about raising troop levels in Afghanistan or repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The military’s apolitical reputation is probably one of the reasons public faith in it as an institution remains high even as respect for other public institutions has suffered.
