A few months ago, early March, CNN wrote.

The US government for decades shied away from targeting foreign leaders after embarrassing failures and unintended consequences from covert activities by the CIA.

The targeting and killing of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which opened an undeclared war with Iran, is the first time in modern history the US — in this case working with Israel — openly killed the leader of a foreign country, according to CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali.

I struggled with some demons; they were middle-class and tame…

A li’l frustrated with the lopsided goose:gander ratio on this stuff. It’s like he doesn’t even see other people as real people.

Arguably the initial strike could be seen as liberating; going after a dictator that less than a third of the population voted for and has approval ratings well under 40% and who has wrested direct control over national security and armed forces, been unbound by institutional norms, banned and bypassed journalists and congress in lieu of personal propaganda edicts, and ruled via a group of hand-picked loyalists overriding elected officials. But all that applied to Khameini too and that feeling of being liberated didn’t last long:

Then today, the US president said.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” he said in a Truth Social post.

“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”

The legendary “Daisy Girl” political ad from the 1964 LBJ campaign.

I always thought the first few pages in Uncanny X-Men #238 was a reference to this (along with all the more obvious Maddy Pryor references like “Gone to America”).