" 
 ::::It does appear (& I confess, I was unaware of it ( ) Cabinet would have supported FDR if he moved to war. Cabinet is not Congress, & Congress blows like a weathervane. Public opinion, tho it had moved in favor of action, was still over 60% opposed to war: there was strong support of ""do something"" but also strong opposition to ""go to war"", which is a clear failure to understand the problem... 
 ::::It's also true Japan didn't respond to pressure, which I suggest is as much to do with misreading the situation by the West as ""Japanese aggression"". As somebody smarter than I once said, you can only send a signal if the other side understands the signal. In this case, the buildup on the P.I. & the Fleet in Hawaii were supposed to deter; instead, they were seen by Japan as threats: same action, very different perspectives. (Ah, what Kurosawa would do with this... D )  "