ABSTRACT
The Congress can change its view on an issue of foreign policy, responding to the swings of public opinion, in a way denied to the president. Congress can, if it wishes, avoid acting on a problem, leaving the burden of action and political risk to the president. The role of Senators Arthur Vandenberg, Everett Dirksen, Lyndon Johnson, and others who helped unite the executive branch, the Congress, and the nation at critical moments is a proud aspect of our constitutional history. With respect to Southeast Asia in 1975—despite overwhelming support for the Manila treaty two decades earlier—there was no solid understanding in the Congress or the public of why seven successive presidents, from Franklin Roosevelt to Gerald Ford, had made or reaffirmed serious strategic commitments to Southeast Asia. A number of senators, at considerable risk, and President Ford performed that collaborative function with respect to the Panama Canal treaties.
