Obama versus 47 Republican Senators: dangerous stuff

Last week 47 Republican Senators signed an open letter to senior leaders in Iran, which suggested that any deal made over that country’s nuclear program could be changed or undone by a future Congress or President. Richard Brodsky argues that these 47 Senators are rewriting the constitutional, political and historical norms that have, until now, dictated that Presidents conduct foreign policy, while Congress only influences, or occasionally approves it. He writes that the letter is good for President Obama in the long run, as the public are likely to reject the GOP’s tactic, but that in the short term, it is likely to make a deal with Iran even harder.