Fonda Jane

Just Jane

I watched the Leslie Stahl interview with Jane Fonda last night on "60 Minutes". I've always admired Jane Fonda for her fortitude and, I think, bravery. Some of that bravery was misput -- she should never have been photographed commiserating with the North Vietnamese in 1972. She has amply admitted as much, saying it was a tremendous lapse of judgment. For her sincere and heartfelt apology, a Viet Vet spat in her face at a book signing earlier this year.

For people who see a war as immoral or unwise, it is sometimes difficult to register that note without seeming to oppose the troops fighting the war. It is possible to be in love with America, but not with the actions of its elected officials. Many of the Vietnam soldiers were draftees from lower income families; likewise the U.S. forces now in Iraq are primarily low-income inductees, seeing the military as a step toward stable income and higher education. They may be motivated more by economics than patriotic fervor. Antiwar protestors do a service to young men by enlightening them and making clear what the choice really is. Is that seditious? It could discourage men from joining up, and discourage soldiers from reenlisting. In the great give and take of politics and life, it's perfectly fair. Young men are not attack dogs and they are not machines -- they are humans with minds after all. They deserve both sides of the issue.

Jane Fonda is an "enigma wrapped in a riddle". She recently converted to Christianity, but is about to go on a tour to protest the war in Iraq. Old habits die hard. :-) Iraq is facing all manner of problems - insurgency, damaged infrastructure, a fledgling government that is still trying to hash out a Constitution for a religiously divided hodgepodge. Problem is, America is now the keystone that keeps Iraq from erupting into a civil war. Hard for us to make a retreat without leaving a wake of Sunni revenge killings and taliban-style theocracy. With due respect to Jane, our best action would have been to leave "bad enough" alone in Iraq. But her objection to the original intrusion is well understood.

Front-and-center for the 2008 Platform will be - how to clean up Bush's mess. I'm reminded of a neighbor's Collie that would bite you if you stopped petting her. Forewarned is fine, but sometimes you are in such trouble if you rush in to a situation like that. The best ideas from our very best are seriously lacking. Donald Rumsfeld gave us "War Lite". He pretty well proved that the concept doesn't work. Bush gave us "punishment by proxy". We were attacked by Wahabi Arabs, so he went after Iraq. I have to say, maybe we should pull up a chair with Jane Fonda. Her ideas might be good -- and they couldn't be much worse.