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We have elected not a Roosevelt but rather a Neville Chamberlain. Considering obama's toadying to the muslim world, Hitler would have had no problem enacting his "jewish solution" The Grand Mufti of jerusalem would have been invited to spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom.
We have elected a "Chamberlain" but nothing is as simple as it seems. Chamberlain was the prime minister who ultimately declared war on Germany after the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. He remained Prime Minister until May, 1940 when he resigned, realizing his political position was untenable, after narrowly surviving a "no confidence" vote.
Despite Chamberlain and his very flawed policies the United Kingdom not only was on the winning side but was essential to winning the war.
As to Roosevelt, I have said before he is on my list of the 5 greatest presidents at number 3 because he foresaw the conflict and for years had been preparing for it. Not because of the "New Deal" which ultimately was a failed policy.
The big problem with Obama is that, like Chamberlain, he makes the prospect of war greater by trying to avoid it. Do I wish we had elected a "Roosevelt" on foreign policy? Emphatically yes.
I still think we would have ultimately won the Second World War anyway.
We should not forget that many Americans openly supported Hitler before the war and many remained secret Nazi backers during the war. One who backed Hitler was Joseph Kennedy, who was so steeped in Irish rhetoric that he believed any enemy of England was his friend. In appreciation of Kennedy's political contributions, Roosevelt, with a nasty sense of humor, made him ambassador to the Court of St. James; Churchill finally told FDR to pull him out or England would declare him persona non grata, a serious insult to a diplomat and the country he serves. Roosevelt obliged.
Many other Americans admired the Nazis, either because they hated Jews or because they admired the efficiency of dictatorships in "making the trains run on time" (said about Mussolini), or bringing prosperity. Few cared that Germany's prosperity came from war preparations, or that efficiency came at the cost of freedom and democratic process.
Most Americans didn't like the Japanese or Japanese-Americans, a factor in both underestimating the enemy and in the use of internment camps for American citizens. While it was not the whole story, Adm. Kimmel's statement that "we didn't think the little yellow b*****ds could do it" certainly was a factor in the unpreparedness at Pearl Harbor.
Jim
Amen Jim. To put an exclamation point on that the German American Bund held a rally in 1939 in New York City that attracted 20,000 people.
I do remember the German-American Bund.
As for Obama. "I have talked with the muslims and they assure me that .......Peace in our time"
Chamberlain damm near left Britain defenceless with his concilatory programmes and it was only through the efforts of others that Britain held out.
One could put a good spin on Obama's overtures to the Muslim world; after all, we should try to get along with everyone. But Iran told him bluntly that they will talk to him only after he converts the U.S. to Islam.
And Saudi Arabia, in spite of Obama's bowing to the king, is really no more friendly and allows its oil billionaires to keep Al Qaeda going with million dollar contributions. (If reports are true, they also contributed heavily - and illegally - to the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign; that might explain why Homeland Security is eager to crack down on mythical "right wing extremists" rather than on real Islamic terrorists.)
Jim
We went to war because we had no choice. The brutal Japanese actions in the Phillippines (like the Bataan Death March) and the execution of prisoners at other places (Wake Island, for example) were clearly unforgiveable by any politician of any stripe. Only one member of Congress voted against declaring war on Japan, and her elevator clearly didn't go all the way to the penthouse.
And Germany declared war on us, not the other way round.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, there is no way events could have unfolded differently. Even people who strongly opposed war prior to Pearl Harbor came on board. Charles Lindberg, for example, tried to get back on active duty and was denied by Roosevelt as punishment. As a Lockheed employee, he went out to the Pacific, as an exepert on the P-38. He sweet-talked his way into flying with a combat group, and shot down a Japanese plane.
I don't belive we have the will to win ANY war.Put a fork in us ,it's over.
In 1941, the commies in this country were willing to go along with anything that would save Stalinist Russia from the mean old Nazis. In 2009, the commies are in charge here, and they will continue to push for their worker's paradise. They will disregard our Constitution and our successful capitalist culture to return the wealth of this country to it's "rightful owners". Before long we can expect the pressure to mount for the removal of our "dangerous" weapons from irresponsible hands (ours). They will only fight against a perceived enemy of the socialist state, but they will be brutal in that fight. Personal and civil liberties will be crushed in the name of "the people". No, we would not win a major war. The media and the average citizen do not care about our country. The media wants a story, and the citizen wants to be on Survivor and win the lottery. Regards, Clark
Until the Whermacht crossed the Russian border, the communists in this country were against our helping Britain in WW2. Then "Uncle Joe" told them his buddy hitler was a "bad person" and they switched overnight!