The politicians certainly have more information and there’s no doubt that FDR wants this done. As just a common citizen though, it looks very different. I’m sure this provided fodder for the America First Committee and the like, but I’m a bit surprised that there is not more public uproar that the British have it in hand. It makes me think that there was a general sense (and wisely so) by the bulk of the population that American involvement was simply a matter of time.
On Jan. 31 I posted a link to a clip from "Buck Privates," the date that movie opened. The clip was the Andrews Sisters singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." If you had asked me last year when that song came out I would have guessed some time in 1942. This week's Life mag has a feature on the finer points of manning a 75mm howitzer. I recently prepped a story for posting (forget what day, exactly) that reported on a speech given by some reserve army officer who said much the same thing you did. It's just a matter of time.
It appears to me that at some level the American people have come to terms with the idea that the United States is going to be doing much more than simply lending and leasing stuff to Britain.