Actually beating a dead man isn't that easy. I'm sure Bush would have lost by even more votes if Al Gore had had the foresight to kick his clogs during the run-up to the election.

And that probably goes for most politicians. After all, people say much nicer things about them when they've gone to glory.

Sooner or later someone's going to twig that. Fake a death a couple of days before the election, get swept into office on the strength of people listening to the people saying what a great guy you were. Then miraculously emerge with a smart cover story about mistaken identity.

Rather radical thread drift there. But to get back on topic again - Greg F's logic seems a bit suspect to me. If you are defending yourself against attack, you hope your side will ultimately be victorious. In other words that you will "conquer". And that is at least how the war of 1812 was interpreted in the USA.