Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
The role of Congress and the President are fundamentally different. Kerry was a senator, but you guys are treating his vote on the resolution authorizing the president to go to war as if it were something different -- the decision to go to war itself. As Kerry was defending how he voted: "Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq...."
|
I understand the differing roles of Congress and the President, thanks very much. I was awake most days during that class.
I am saying that Congress, including Kerry, should not have voted to authorize Bush to go to war if they knew there were no WMD and no al Qaeda connection. Because there was no reason to go to war, and therefore no reason to authorize it.
You seem to be treating the vote to authorize war as a mere formality, or a non-issue. Under your analysis, Congress could might as well authorize going to war against every country in the world tomorrow -- after all, it's the President's decision, right?
Beyond that, you know that if Kerry says (and I don't know if he is saying this) "the war was wrong, but my vote to authorize the war was okay," then he looks bad. And yes, he can explain that, but every time you explain you lose a little, y'know? While I fully understand the subtleties -- though I disagree with the ultimate conclusion, because I still believe that the vote to authorize war was wrong -- I don't think most voters do.
