Clearly, the Congress did authorize the Use of Force -- no bones about it. But be that as it may, I just think that a straight-up Declaration that "A State of War is formally Declared to exist" simply leaves opponents a lot less wiggle room, IMHO.
Personally, I would consider that to be a good thing.
“But be that as it may, I just think that a straight-up Declaration that ‘A State of War is formally Declared to exist’ simply leaves opponents a lot less wiggle room, IMHO.”
It would make no difference, so far as I can see. In the very least, no one who cares is representative of the general public, which does not read Congressional acts and probably has no idea we haven’t declared war in a long time. The public is smart enough, however, to know who wanted the war in the first place, who asked for the war, and who prosecuted the war. They also know, if they stop to think about it, that the Democrats authorizing force was hedging their bets (so they can cash in whether or not it’s a success).
But that doesn’t matter. There are only two parties, and as regards mass opinion, if you blame one you favor the other. One side has to be MORE to blame for the war, even if the other side is partly to blame. And the side that will get more blame is the one that fought the war. See LBJ not running for re-election and Nixon taking the Whitehouse (the first one of his party since Hoover, for pete’s sake!), even though Republicans authorized Vietnam en masse.