David Skaggs: “I figure I must have it about right if I am getting criticized from both sides on this. If the President would merely…”

“I figure I must have it about right if I am getting criticized from both sides on this. If the President would merely pledge that he would come to Congress for a vote before initiating offensive action against Iraq, should that again become necessary, we would not have to do this. The problem is the President of the United States has asserted, wrongly, I believe, that he has all the authority he needs now to launch an offensive war against Iraq if circumstances dictate. I think that is wrong on the facts. It is certainly profoundly wrong on the Constitution. We can get no better instruction in what our role in this ought to be than to listen to the voice of the one person who had more to do with drafting the Constitution than anyone else: Mr. Madison. This is what James Madison said, "In no part of the Constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature and not to the executive department. The trust and the temptation would be too great for any one man." Including President Bush; including President Clinton.”