A sharp-eyed Southern correspondent points this out: The Associated Press reports that the Marines and other branches of the armed services are outperforming their recruiting goals. The AP tries to explain this away as — what else? — a consequence of the terrible, awful, no-good, very bad Bush economy:
WASHINGTON (AP) ‹ The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.
All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.
… Recruiting is easier in a slow economy, which limits other job possibilities that are available. But officials also noted that the Army and Marines have added recruiters as well as bonuses and other special benefits to attract more recruits in the midst of the unpopular war in Iraq.
Patriotism? Love of country? Young men’s inborn desire for new places and experiences? Nah, these new Marines are just a bunch of patsies who couldn’t get hired at the local filling station. How about asking some new recruits why they signed up, and see how many say, “For the money”?