In 19 forty, roosevelt and his republican opponent were vying to outdo each other with their promises that they would keep the country out of the european war. It was a competition to see who could be most passionate about saying they would stay out of it. And when republican hopeful, wendel wilkie charges that the president is secretly trying to get the us into the war, he issues a denial. There's a problem with this in the american system, too, because there's precious few ways for the public to weigh in on foreign policy in the country. Could roosevelt be said to be more far seeing than the American public?