The problem in Iraq is that Bush and the cabinet are... insufficiently hawkish?

I kid you not, that's the argument being made by William Kristol (and, apparently, Lathryn Jean Lopez):

War is hell and war deserves everything you've got left in you. So onward and upward, but let's rally for the fight.

A few minutes ago, Bill Kristol expressed a similar sentiment (stressing the moving forward part), while on Laura Ingraham's show, wishing Cabinet secretaries would engage in the fight for victory. He encouraged the president to embrace hawkishness, predicting it could not only rally folks toward being victory-minded but could also have the added benefit of being a real "shot in the arm" for the Bush administration.

In Washington, pundits can be consistently wrong about pretty much everything and still be considered Very Serious People. That's why William Kristol still has a job. What's truly bizarre here is Kristol's apparent belief that Bush has not yet "embraced hawkishness," and that doing so now would somehow be a "shot in the arm" to the administration. What does this even mean? Should Bush give a speech in which he confidently reiterates his adamant support for the war? How would that differ from every speech in the past four years? Will administration officials stand around water coolers having conversations like, "Hey, did you know the President supports this war? Before, I thought he was a waffler on Iraq. Now he's 'embraced hawkishness.' I'm inspired!"

Even stranger is Kristol's belief that cabinet officials should do more to "engage in the fight for victory." (Have they just been twiddling their thumbs the past four years?) I suppose the Secretary of Health and Human Services should slap on some body armor, grab a gun, and head out for Baghdad. Of course that's not what he means. Instead, he thinks the Secretary of Health and Human Services should slap on his Victory Mindset and lobby Senators to support the war. Come on, Secretary! Be a Courageous War Hero like Gen. William Kristol of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists.