Tabloid-magnet to bullet-magnet

The secret - which Matt Drudge told, of course - is out: Britain's rash and handsome Harry has fought behind Afghanistan's front lines for the past two months. Now Britain is yanking her royal son from the Helmland and bringing him home.

The prince, a military academy grad and third in line to the British throne, couldn't serve with his troops in Iraq so he cut a secret deal to go to Afghanistan instead. Red-headed bad boy and "playboy prince," he's always had a wicked flair his slightly balding, boring older brother William lacks. (William's contribution to the Afghanistan fight: A letter saying Princess Di would have been proud.)

And this time, the world's reaction is not to frown on the recklessness of a guy once dumb enough to dress up like a Nazi for a costume party. Kathryn Jean Lopez gushes on The Corner, "Prince Harry seems like such an impressive young man," not just because of his bravery but also because he seems miraculously cured of his booze thirst. John Noonan writes on The Weekly Standard blog, "This kind of leadership impresses me no end." Human Events writes, "Prince Harry the hero puts Europe to shame." The Morning Journal says,"A prince obviously doesn't have to do such things." Allan Mallinson's pride is palpable: "Well, now Cornet Wales can look every soldier in the eye. Indeed, he can look the whole country in the eye. And his gritty determination to do his bit ought to have recruits clamouring at every barracks gate."

In an embarrassingly-timed column today, Abe Greenwald claims that democracy is superior to monarchy because good looks correlate with high intelligence: "Our radiant, twinkling, and smoldering candidates are clear indications of the health of our democracy." Greenwald proves his point by unforgivably ignoring William and Harry's good looks, choosing instead to compare our potential leaders with the unfortunate-faced Prince Charles. "Erase the great experiment of America," he says, "and we'd be poised to kneel at the throne of this dull and cowardly man who makes Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich look like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck."

But Britons are allowed to be a little smug today: Erase the great American experiment and you could have some national pride in a prince who makes American worthies look, well, cowardly and dull. Commanders-in-chief usually conduct wars so far removed from the fight it's like playing a computer game --- push a button, make some sterile, artificial gore. Years ago, though, the men in charge of starting wars actually fought them. It didn't lead to fewer wars, but it may have made for bigger, braver men.