And in the short run it probably was. It is unlikely that any of the senators who voted for this extraordinary waste of life and treasure will pay a political price in this election year or maybe even in the next one. And even if things do start going badly over the next few years, the first instinct of most Americans will be to rally around whatever ineffectual boob occupies the Oval Office next year, at least during the beginning of troubled times. But even if the drug war in Colombia goes as badly as some of us expect, the full political impact won't be felt for years. In effect, then, a politician voting for this particular arrogant boondoggle would be unlikely to pay a political price for some time.
Few politicians have a psychological time horizon that extends beyond the two-year election cycle.
So foolishness prevailed, as most Americans knew it would. Few Americans really think they could have changed that equation, so few got involved. We can almost count the consistent questioners of this foolish policy on one hand. Sure, it was a largely cosmetic gesture on behalf of a policy that, while touted as a respectable alternative by some who question the drug war but are too conventional in their approach to question it at the roots, is unlikely to end drug abuse or even reduce it much, especially if it's run by government. On the other hand, spending more money on drug treatment programs would still be less harmful than most of what the government does.