World War II is remembered in the US as an apolitical war, at least after it began. But that truism is belied by a brief editorial note in The Nation issue of June 17, 1944, first printed after the invasion of Europe began seventy years ago today.

At least one person objected to yesterday’s Back Issues blog post about Bowe Bergdahl on the grounds that there is no criticizing conventional military wisdom on D-Day, just as there is no fighting in the war room. But as the 1944 editorial blurb notes, even on the original D-Day itself, politics and argument and democracy never stopped.

Shallow politicians converting another tragedy into a tawdry issue of party gain: the oldest D-Day tradition.

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