READER BILL MCLANE EMAILS: “So what are we to do if Obama decides that this Korea thing could be a perfect thing with which to turn his ratings around? Like bomb them and become a war president? Like get us into a tussle with China? Do you think he is above this sort of calculation?” No, and the lefties who are criticizing my earlier post aren’t above turning on a dime and praising his “courage,” either.

UPDATE: A reader suggests that the above is too cynical. I’m not sure I’m capable of being “too cynical” these days. But a hedge-fund reader sends this:

One of the most popular parlor games on Wall Street for the last year has been to guess the where, not if, of an Obama military strike.

Naturally, Korea was on everyone’s list, along with Iran, Pakistan (loose nukes?), and Venezuela.

My favorite dark horse is Mexico: It’s a drug war/human smuggling/oil reserves trifecta!

I’m ruling out Venezuela. Mexico, alas, is in its own very depressing category. The others are all good candidates — heck, Obama talked about invading Pakistan during the campaign.