for the gulf of tonkin resolution? did they know what happened in the gulf of tonkin? it turned out to be a mess of lies but they immediately voted to give lyndon johnston the authority to launch but then became a very long war in vietnam. there is no democracy in matters of foreign policy. and, no checks and balances, no hope that congress will stop and say hey let's look into this, let's see if this is true. and no hope for the supreme court deciding that a war is unconstitutional. and we have not fought the constitutional wars since they aren't of world war ii. constitution declares congress declares war for the congress is not declare war in any war that we ephod and there were many since world war ii. you learn in school of something is unconstitutional it is the job of the supreme court to say so and do something about it. no. just because they were black robes does not give them any special moral standing. they are political appointees and they do the bidding of the people who appointed them. so with a don't hav

lyndon johnson was not forthcoming about the gulf of tonkin incident, and james polk was not forthcoming. he maneuvered the country into war without telling america that his undlying aim was territorial expansion. when that became clear, it sapped his political standing significantly. >> was the unpopular when he left office? >> he was a president with a great deal of iron will and a great deal of determination to get what he wanted. he was willing to expend a great deal of political capital. as a result, i think he sacked his political stamina. >> in perusing your book, because it is a substantial volume -- in preparing for today, i was struck by the fact that he was not confrontational. he was not mendon johnson -- lyndon johnson. he endured buchanan, his secretary of state is terrible antics, and yet you say he was an iron will demand. these are not tolerances of iron-willed men, are they? >> he was a paradoxical. when it came to face-to-face confrontation, he was -- there is no better word for it -- a coward. he could not handle face-to-face confrontation. he was willing to outmaneuv