So this story has sort of been floating around over the past few years, but it may take on some more significance now that Rep. Charles Rangel will become the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is a fairly influential post.

The irony of the story, of course, is that Rangel is almost certainly staunchly anti-war, and that the reason he is fighting for a draft is that it will prevent future wars.

It is his belief that Senators would not approve of war legislation if it meant that their own sons and daughters might be conscripted to fight and perhaps die in a foreign land. At present, of course, the armed forces tend to recruit from pools that senator's children probably do not spend too much time swimming in. Does anyone agree with this tactic? Or does it seem like Rangel might be getting too clever for his own good, and that it might backfire, with a larger standing military leading to more wars?