ELECTION 2000: POINT/COUNTERPOINT SERIES.

Each issue of Volume 148 has included two essays on a subject related to law and the American political system in the form of a point/counterpoint debate. We developed this series in an effort to raise the level of civic discourse during an election cycle critical to our nation's future. Issues 1-4 featured debates about law professors and political advocacy; public financing of political campaigns; urban sprawl; and regulating guns as consumer products.

The election season has slipped into its pre-convention lull, yet the underlying issues remain vibrant. We now offer the final exchange in our series: the proper constitutional role of the president in initiating military actions. In the past eight years, President Clinton has undertaken significant military actions against Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, without a single declaration of war from Congress. The participants in this discussion address whether...