Who says the president is failing to show leadership? In one area at least, there�s no sign of flag or falter. If anything, the administration�s only becoming more forthright. Sad to say, that area is military build-up.

Last year, the White House made a big deal of cutting a weapons program -- the F-22 fighter jet -- and the cuts conveniently obscured the growth in spending on unmanned aircraft or drones (the weapons that Pakistanis say killed a record 123 civilians in 12 attacks last month; 41 for every alleged Al Qaeda member.)

This year, the president dispensed with window dressing. No big deal about cuts -- except on the domestic side. While the administration�s record $3.8 trillion budget shrinks or freezes spending on domestic needs, it requests $708.3 billion for war. That�s $14.8 billion more than we�re spending now.

The total includes $548.9 billion for �regular� war, plus $159.3 billion for special spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Oh yes, the administration�s also asking Congress to increase spending on new nuclear weapons by more than $7 billion dollars over the next five years -- despite that peace prize-winning pledge to cut the US arsenal and seek a nuclear weapons-free world.

The quote of the day comes from the CEO of a military contractor-funded policy group called the Lexington Institute. Loren Thompson tells Tuesday�s New York Times, �The defense industry is pleased but bemused . . . It�s been telling itself for years that when the Democrats got control it would be bad news for weapons programs. But the spending keeps going on.�

Take that you Nobel committee!

And to think some whiners complain about Democrats suffering from a lack of direction.