Liberal hawks are often accused of trying to steer a "sensible" course by splitting the difference between a reasonable Democratic position, on one hand, and a maniacally conservative GOP position one on the other--so they end up essentially Conservative Lite.
Browsing the flap copy of Michael O'Hanlon's A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge To America, I came across a marvelous example of this:
Washington has split between those who think we will eventually go to war with China (mostly conservatives) and those who find these alarums unconvincing (mostly centrists). ... A War Like No Other argues against both.
What's the third way O'Hanlon wants to chart between the third way and the Right here? (Maybe it should be called Fourth Way politics...) To assume we'll probably go to war with China?
--Barron YoungSmith