It’s depressing to see the Edwards campaign sending out an email (PDF) with the subject line “Stop the Draft Before It Starts”:

This is an obvious exaggeration of an offhand remark by a general (though Bonior does at least clarify that the “Pentagon is now denying” that a draft is being considered).

Using the prospect of a draft to scare people is an old trick. One of my first blog posts in late 2004 was about a Rock the Vote ad with the tagline “Off to college or off to war? It’s up to you. Could you be drafted?” under an image of a young man getting his hair cut short:

Just to be clear, there is no chance of a draft for a war this unpopular, especially now, and everyone — Edwards and Bonior included — knows it.