Let's get our pants on.

The Kerry flacks at the Associated Press give us this typically slanted report on the issue that won't go away: The carefully-worded headline: "Bush, Kerry Use Draft to Target Youth Vote."

John Kerry says re-electing President Bush would create "the great potential of a draft." Not so, responds the incumbent: "The best way to avoid the draft is to vote for me."

The fact that both Bush and Kerry are on record opposing mandatory military service speaks volumes about the audience they're targeting with their dueling draft scares - young voters.

Now hold on thar' mister AP reporter. It's a real stretch to call this "dueling draft scares."

Let's remember who first proposed bringing back the draft: Democrat Charles Rangel in the House and Democrat Fritz Hollings in the Senate. Let's remember that the only support either bill received was also from Democrats. Let's remember that the Republicans called Rangel's bluff and defeated his bill in the house 402-2. (Rangel himself didn't even vote for his own bill.)

Nevertheless, shameless John Kerry continues to scare young people into believing that President Bush will reinstate the draft. AP calls it "dueling draft scares" but the scaring has been coming only from one side. The President has continually reassured young people that there will not be a draft.

Bush's statement is a bit unfortunate, however, because now that he's said "The best way to avoid the draft is to vote for me," he frees up the press to accuse him of implying that John Kerry wants a draft.

But hold on thar' again.

The implication that John Kerry wants a draft isn't that far from the truth. Walt at Truth, Lies & Common Sense comes to this conclusion.

Speaking to the Des Moines Register, Kerry said "With George Bush, the plan for Iraq is more of the same and the great potential of a draft. Because if we go it alone, I don't know how you do it with the current overextension" of the military.

So they're at it again, except this time their candidate is doing the dirty work. If you read his statement above it is a good thing that President Bush is going to be elected because Kerry states that he doesn't know how to command the military in this situation with out restarting the draft.

Ignoring for a moment that once again John Kerry insults our allies and claims we are "going it alone," if John Kerry claims that a draft is the only option because of the "current overextension," and he admits that he doesn't know any other way to do it, what might be John Kerry's "secret plan" to increase troops by 40,000 soldiers?

Or perhaps Kerry's just talking through his bicycle helmet.

But remember that John Kerry actually did propose mandatory service for young people. Though it was deleted from the campaign website, as Kevin at Wizbang points out, in cyberspace, nothing truly ever goes away.

Read it through. On the face of it, it's not bad. I think encouraging community service is a great idea. Though I chafe at the idea of mandatory community service. But let's remember which candidate is talking about mandatory service of any kind here. It's not George Bush.

The draft scaremongering by the Kerry campaign is working, though. From the AP story again:

The University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election survey found that half of young people believe Bush wants to reinstate the military draft. Only 8 percent said Kerry wants it.

The day the poll was released, Bush said in his second debate with Kerry, "We're not going to have a draft, period."

The President doesn't want a draft. The military doesn't want to work with draftees. There's not a chance in hell that a draft bill will ever get through Congress. But no matter how many times President Bush says "There will not be a draft," the Kerry campaign and their friends in the press will continue to say "President Bush might reinstate a draft."

A lie can go halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on.

Let's get our pants on, folks.