Just to close the point: It there were only one right answer to this question it would be this one, offered up by Fred Thompson:
“In any close call, you should go to Congress, whether it’s legally required or not, because you’re going to need the American people and Congress will help you if they’re voting for it or if they support it. Or leaders, especially in the opposite party, are convinced and looking at the evidence that this is the right thing to do, that will help you with the American people. And we’ve learned that, over the long term in any conflict, we’ve got to have the strong support of the American people.”
I agree: “But, certainly, what you want to do is to have the agreement of all the people...”
MATTHEWS: Governor Romney…if you were president of the United States, would you need to go to Congress to get authorization to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities?
ROMNEY: You sit down with your attorneys and tell you what you have to do, but obviously the president of the United States has to do what’s in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat. The president did that as he was planning on moving into Iraq and received the authorization of Congress...
MATTHEWS: Did he need it?
ROMNEY: You know, we’re going to let the lawyers sort out what he needed to do and what he didn’t need to do. But, certainly, what you want to do is to have the agreement of all the people — leadership of our government as well as our friends around the world where those circumstances are available.
It there were only one right answer to this question it would be this one, offered up by Fred Thompson:It's this kind of common sense that's going to propel Fred to the White House.“In any close call, you should go to Congress, whether it’s legally required or not, because you’re going to need the American people and Congress will help you if they’re voting for it or if they support it. Or leaders, especially in the opposite party, are convinced and looking at the evidence that this is the right thing to do, that will help you with the American people. And we’ve learned that, over the long term in any conflict, we’ve got to have the strong support of the American people.”