Excuse Me, But Was That A Threat?

In his Veteran's Day (augh!) radio address, many people noticed that, in addition to kicking Rummy to the curb, the Kowboy Koward of Krawford slipped a few zingers into his speech. Among them was this little gem:

Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

WTF?

Now, why on earth would you say something like that unless it was at issue? Is this what the writery folk call 'Chekhov's Gun'? There has never been a time that we have not had elections in a 'time of war' (again with the 'war' frame, even though we're not technically at war.) John Nichols writes that even during the Civil War, when Lincoln was urged by his party to suspend elections, he refused. Instead, he ran for re-election, facing strong opposition both within his own party and from a Democrat who was a decorated general.

“We cannot have free government without free elections,” he said. “If the rebellion could force us to forgo or postpone a national election, it might fairly be claimed to have already conquered and ruined us.”

So what's this talk about suspending elections, if it's never been done before?

Are you threatening us, Dubya?