Fact is the fall of France and the Nazi conquest of most of Europe shook Washington to the core. It was obvious that eventually America would somehow be dragged in and we were utterly unprepared. With bipartisan support Congress passed the Two Ocean Navy Act, a peacetime draft, a munitions bill for a million man Army and other measures. And to Lindbergh's disgust, Lend-Lease, because Britain was broke and would have to make a hard peace with the Nazis if we didn't help them.
We were still terribly unprepared in December 1941, but much, much better than in 1940.
I wouldn't have given you a command, either, Lindy. It's one thing to be in the American isolationist tradition but quite another to hobnob with the likes of Goering and Hitler.
Most of us are no Fan of FDR’s first two terms, but he did the right thing by rearming in 1940-41. Lend-Lease and the Selective Service were good bipartisan ideas. Contrary to the America First line, there was no plan to declare war on Nazi Germany prior to Pearl Harbor.