In the 1930s and early 40s Congress sat around arguing, refusing to allow the US to enter the war, despite the fact that our allies were being defeated and our

In the 1930s and early 40s Congress sat around arguing, refusing to allow the US to enter the war, despite the fact that our allies were being defeated and our economic interests were being threatened (to say nothing of the moral obligation we had to save Jewish lives, particularly after turning away ships full of Jewish refugees). In all likelihood our late entry resulted in a longer, costlier war -- we had to fight for more territory and against more fortified defenses, and our allies were less able to fight alongside us after so many defeats. Look, there is a good argument that Congress has delegated too much authority to the executive branch and some of that authority should be withdrawn. That is not the same as saying that the executive branch should not make any determinations whatsoever and should only be given exact instructions by Congress. We should always be wary of going to the extremes in either direction -- the Romans gave the executive far too much power and we would not want to repeat their mistake, but an executive with too little power would be equally disastrous for the country.