The whole day leading up to Bush's speech announcing (surprise!) that he was sending over 20,000 more Americans into the Iraqi quagmire, right-wing talking heads hit the airwaves, talking points in hand.

One talking point was how to explain why Bush fired the generals in the field so that he could replace them with generals who would support his escalation. Their claim was that Lincoln fired many generals during the Civil War.

Since we're involved in a civil war, it makes sense to have a civil war analogy, but it ain't Lincoln. It's Jefferson Davis.

In 1864, the future of the Civil War came down to Atlanta. If the union couldn't capture Atlanta before election day, Lincoln would lose the election and the North would sue for peace. Confederate General Joe Johnston understood this perfectly, and maneuvered his troops to keep Sherman's army out of Atlanta.

Unfortunately for the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis just didn't get it. He believed in winning the war on the field, so he replaced Johnston with General John Bell Hood. Hood attacked Sherman, got creamed, and Atlanta was burned to the ground.

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