Andrew Bacevich offers a cold-blooded argument for an Obama presidency. The key point is that electing Obama will serve as a repudiation of the Iraq war and, to a lesser extent, the imperial trajectory of which it’s a key part. This, Bacevich thinks, could set the stage for a revival of “genuine conservatism,” which he identifies with restraint at home and prudence abroad.

The question, though, is how many present-day “conservatives” actually identify with Bacevich’s version of conservatism?