It’s hard to know what to do with the final weeks of the Bush administration. But Bill Kristol thinks the time might best be spent killing your children in another war with a dubious relationship to the national interest:

And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn’t keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy to clobber them. If need be, the Marines would no doubt be glad to recapitulate their origins and join in by going ashore in Africa to destroy the pirates’ safe havens.

It’s amazing how little consequence there is to your career as a commentator for blithely arguing that you should start a war just because you’ve got a little bit of time on your hands. Kristol doesn’t remotely attempt to contend that "clobbering" — lovely euphemism there — the Somali pilates pirates is in the national interest, or worth the potential consequences, or square the effort with the two other wars he alternates between thinking are world-historical endeavors and no great shakes. Funny how he thinks the admiralty are a bunch of pussies who don’t know what their jobs are, or that the Marine Corps also ought to take some time out of planning to fight the Afghanistan war so marines die for the legacy of George Bush and the vanity of Bill Kristol.

Dear Republicans: when are you going to repudiate this mad cretin? What does he offer you, really? Have you liked the Iraq war? Have you liked its contribution to losing you both houses of Congress and the presidency in a blowout? Have you liked his constant boosterism of a weak 2008 nominee? In terms of both policy and politics, how’s Kristol’s influence working for you?