They should be — and the presidential outcome should hinge on how we address the developing Iranian capability. The nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime is not imaginary but real. As Solzhenitsyn warned in his 1970 Nobel Literature Prize lecture, “The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles. The spirit of Munich is a sickness of the will of successful people. . . . (But) the price of cowardice will only be evil.”

How we handle Iran, now as a campaign issue and later, will determine whether regarding appeasement, too, Solzhenitsyn was right.

XXX

A recent column, based on a Weekly Standard article by World War II historian Richard Frank, spoke of how George Polk may have altered his military record, principally while in the Solomon Islands during the war, to make it look better than it was. A CBS correspondent, Polk was murdered in Greece in 1948. His death created a sensation, and an award — second in prestige only to the Pulitzers — was established in his name.

Frank presented much evidence regarding, in his words, “Polk’s fabrication of a false account of his naval service that undermines his credibility as a journalist.” My column about Frank’s article noted that I first wrote about Polk — a family acquaintance — 48 years ago.

It now turns out the Polk family possesses papers strongly suggesting Polk did not manipulate his military record. The family has provided me with three copies of documents (1) awarding Polk a purple heart, (2) authorizing him to pilot naval aircraft, and (3) flying “76 single-engine missions” and destroying enemy aircraft.

If the records are genuine (as they seem to be), then Polk was not the impostor Frank claims him to have been. The family has additional George Polk records, and there may be more to say about the man, his achievements, and the award named for him. Stay tuned.