During the height of cold war hysteria, when the tandem of Nixon and McCarthy questioned the patriotism of those seeking an alternative to an escalating arms race that could result in global destruction, Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic Party's voice of progressiveness and reason, made a wise observation:

"I hope it has not reached the point where it is more patriotic to advocate war than to advocate peace."

Stevenson's sagacious advice resurfaced this morning upon reading a New York Times article by Kate Zernike about the closely contested race in the 7th Congressional Distict located in Edgmont, Pennsylvania, an affluent Philadelphia suburb.

Joe Sestak, a former three-star admiral who worked as a national security adviser in the Clinton White House, was provided with advice from national Democrats and media consultants nine months ago when he was preparing to launch his campaign.