One of Washington journalism’s most cherished traditions is making absurd comparisons between political debates and grand military battles. Obamacare, you’ll remember, was to be the GOP’s Waterloo. Republican policy criticisms in 2010 were called a blitzkrieg. If you’re a heavily caffeinated political reporter, your ego is far better served by imagining you’re a witness to the sacking of Carthage rather than a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
