Andy, Ed, re the administration’s decision to call enemy combatants something other than “enemy combatants”: Somewhere in America Alone I write that, to the progressive mind, the very concept of “the enemy” is obsolescent: There are no enemies, just friends whose grievances we haven’t yet accommodated.

It’s a bit worrying to see the president adopting this line formally. He seems to have concluded that he can keep all the practices of the Bush era if he gives them touchyfeelier labels. But the loss of accepted language — that “wars” are “won” by “defeating” “enemies” — is a big part of the problem.

[UPDATE: Instead of “enemy combatants,” how about “future Facebook friends”? On the other hand, it’s still way too “military” for some tastes.]