if it were not such a dishonest one. The answer is yes, the president has the POWER to attack Iran without congressional approval. It would be a politically stupid thing to do absent an imminent threat or in response to an attack. It would not be done without political support. But Matthews is not asking the legal question to get an accurate legal answer. He is trying to get an accurate legal answer that will then be used by MSNBC and the rest of the media to paint the guy who gives the answer as a war-monger.