Jeepers, I haven’t written three NYT bestsellers about war, like Rich Miniter has…

But am I the first one to point out that, in both these occasions,

In reality, you want the president to be able to kill Americans who are attacking civilians without a court order. Does any body really think that Lincoln have gotten a warrant every time the confederates took a shot at federal property? Should George Washington have had to get a judge’s approval to fire on the rebels in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion?

…there was an actual war or something like it going on?

(Although the legality of the War of Northern Aggression can be debated, and I sympathize with the Whiskey Rebels.)

Turns out I’m not.