Inside the Beltway

“The movie is a thinly disguised de-facto political campaign ad against supporters of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan in general and against [Republican Arizona Sen. John] McCain in particular,” opines Mr. Wrenn, editor of political satire at PoliSat.com.

“I’m not a ‘McCain‘ supporter (I’d prefer Rudy Giuliani), but I’d surely support McCain over any of the current crop seeking the Democratic nomination for 2008, each of whom is pandering to, and simpatico with, the soft-headed, professorial naivete of the American self-defeatists. Where are the John F. Kennedy ‘classical liberal’ Democrats?”

As for the film, it revolves around a platoon of soldiers based in Afghanistan and Sen. Jasper Irving (Mr. Cruise) leaking a major story to TV news reporter Janine Roth (Miss Streep). Mr. Redford also acts in the film, playing a college professor.

For those not familiar with Mr. Wrenn, he’s a lawyer, lecturer, political author and humorist. Consider his official bio, which states he’s “a proud descendant of 18th-century criminal exiles from England who swam to the Outer Banks of North Carolina when the British ship taking them to a Georgia penal colony sank in a storm near Cape Hatteras.”

John McCaslin can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes .com.