WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidates agree that Islamic extremists are running rampant, the Mideast is on fire and Russia, China and Iran are flexing their muscles, yet they are far from reaching consensus on how much is enough when it comes to spending on defense.
It's a political divide that has dogged the GOP since 2010 — defense hawks versus deficit hawks born in the tea party movement. It also reflects a war-weary nation as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on with no end in sight and President Barack Obama decides to deploy 50 Special Operations forces to Syria.
If anyone wonders why I often write about the antics that go on in academia, it's not merely because I've spent 25 years as an academic — and so I know the way the sausage is made. It is also because higher education in the United States provides nearly limitless fodder for astonishment, outrage or mockery. In any given week it's possible to find multiple instances of manifest silliness, absurdity, or worse.
