Jim Hightower

Remember the famous Army recruiting posters from World War II? They had a red-white-and-blue drawing of Uncle Sam pointing straight at us, declaring: "I Want YOU."

Today, however – even though George W has tried to compare his disastrous war in Iraq to World War II – the recruitment poster would have Uncle Sam pointing to the side and declaring: "I Want THEM." Bush insists that his war is an urgent matter for the very survival of our nation – but not so urgent that he's willing to point at affluent young Americans and ask them to enlist and, you know, risk their lives... or make any sacrifice whatsoever.

Instead, he keeps calling on "THEM" – the less affluent and non-affluent who make up America's "volunteer" Army – to do his dirty and deadly work in Iraq. To meet the quota of roughly 80,000 new recruits a year needed to maintain the force in Iraq, the Bushites have already lowered the minimum standards so more high school drop-outs and people with low mental-aptitude scores can be taken. They've also raised the enlistment signing bonus to $25,000. Now, no kid from an affluent family is going to sign up for war in exchange for $25,000 – but that's real money to poorer kids. So, they go to war... and the affluent go to college.

And here's a good one: The Bushites have raised the maximum recruitment age from 35 to 42. Think about that. If you and your spouse had kids when you were 20, and you're now 40, the whole family could join George's war. Wow – the Brady Bunch does Iraq!

Meanwhile West Point graduates – the Army's elite – are also saying "no thanks" to Iraq, choosing to leave active-duty service at the highest rate in three decades.

For an accurate barometer of how things are going in Iraq, just look at the recruitment reality. George keeps trying to sell Americans on his war, but no one wants to join it.