tough talk bolsters national security credentials

is it this simplistic and obvious nowadays that politicians establish their bona fides thus:

Elizabeth Warren talks tough on Iran - BostonHerald.com: "U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren left the door open yesterday to military action against Iran in the face of that country’s growing nuclear threat — bolstering her national security credentials as she looks to challenge U.S. Sen. Scott Brown on one of his bread-and-butter campaign issues.
“Our number one responsibility is to protect Americans from terrorism, that’s our job, so being tough on terrorism is enormously important,” said Warren yesterday at a campaign stop in Gloucester."

elizabeth warren, the brazen consumer advocate who gives republicans serious heebie-jeebies for her reputed leftish politics, simply apes the war-mongers and, presto, she gets cred on national security.

for a campaign consultant, who creates his candidate by painting her in broad strokes with a fat paintbrush, this is probably how it is done -- with the media following along as happily as puppydogs.

for the US, however, it's a disturbing and appalling spectacle: just advocate for more war, and ms. candidate insulates herself from charges of being weak on national "defense" -- when it's primarily offensive, in two senses.

shame on elizabeth warren. if you can't say anything sensible, why doesn't she just shut up?