Hill briefing: Uphill battle for Obama on Syria

Politico ^ | September 1,2013 | SEUNG MIN KIM, AUSTIN WRIGHT and JONATHAN ALLEN

[Hojczyk]

President Barack Obama faces a clear uphill battle in swaying skeptical lawmakers of the merits of military action in Syria, as top officials were dispatched to Capitol Hill Sunday to make the administration’s case.

For example, Senate Democratic aides are drafting new language for an authorization of military force in Syria, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Sunday.

The administration’s proposal is too open-ended — a complaint many lawmakers have — Leahy said after leaving the classified briefing. The current version wouldn’t garner his support, but he indicated that a more tightly written draft might.

“I know it’s going to be amended in the Senate,” said Leahy, who is the longest-serving Democrat in the chamber.

Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) are overseeing the revisions to the authorization of force measure, which seek to narrow the scope for any U.S. military mission in Syria, Democratic sources said.

It is unclear when the revised proposal will be released, or what reception it will get from the White House. Obama administration officials drafted their own resolution that was sent to Capitol Hill on Saturday without congressional input, and it was clear from the moment that it was unveiled that party leaders in both chambers would seek to change it.

[DoughtyOne]

If anything should be, this should be the proverbial “snowball’s chance in hell.”

[Oliviaforever]

Last week he was saber rattling threatening to attack Syria on his own without Congressional approval and now he is backtracking putting the onus of war on Congress.

His actions are not one of a president, but of a politician seeking to place our country and his political opponents in a corner.

[Liz]

Obama's got no NATO support, no US support, no Arab League
support (for military action), no big powers support,
and little or no support from the non-worshipful-citizen types.

BTW, Valerie just issued the "Obama Doctrine:"
the bombing mission must be vital to protect O's image.
Any resulting damage, mitigated by war profiteering, is an
acceptable trade-off.

================================================

BACKGROUND MUSIC---"That Old Black Magic Has Me In Its Spell"

" This'll get done fast---I gotta get back to golf."

"A few measly bombs will pump-up all of our resumes,
especially Benghazi screw-ups Susan Rice, candidate Hillary...
and that pontificating jerk, Kerry. "

"And at $50 billion per day for the incursion, we all get to pocket a
few hundred million. Valerie just checked my offshore holdings---
war-profiteering is big bucks. Just ask the 'bombs-away neocons.' "

"Besides, Michelle's been nagging me for new diamonds and a pricey Vineyard house."

[Southack]

I’m glad that 0bama backed down from unilaterally attacking Syria.

...of course, now that 0bama has backed down, even a Democratic Senate is unlikely to step up to the war plate.

Probably for the best, too. A nerve gas cloud killing tens of thousands of Damascus civilians would be a black eye for the U.S. if it was our bombs that unleashed the cloud from the blown up WMDs.

[dfwgator]

We need to bring in Ricky Roma from Glengarry Glen Ross to give Obama a little talk....

“You wanna learn the first rule? You’d know it if you’d ever spent a day in your life. You never open your mouth, ’til you know what the shot is… you f'ing child.”

[tennmountainman]

LOL.
Obama gave congress a blank resolution for congress to write.

What a joke.

[Venturer]

It’s scary when you have an old nothing like Pat Leahy deciding what to do in Syria.

He will suck on Obama’s butt till the skin falls off.

[Bon mots]

[Repent and Believe]

“It’s the easy way out for Obongo. He reflexively ran to the defense of his Brotherhood friends and shot his mouth off about ‘crossing the line.’
Then reality set in, by way of Russia, China, Iran and Israel.”

Another important take on this and doesn’t disqualify your astute observations is: “I’m losing the driver’s seat on the Benghazi and NSA spying stories. This could be serious/ I’ll just need to start a war and risk all of the above because it could be my neck if I keep losing the story line on the other atrocities of mine. Watch how both sides of the isle and both House and Senate take my bait on Syria and change the headlines to Syria and lose site of the other stories. That should work; here goes!

[Grams A]

Any member of Congress who votes to authorize must be held accountable.”

IMO any member of Congress who votes to authorize should immediately be outfitted with a pair of boots, set of fatigues, a 70 pound back pack and be forced to parachute into Syria. Since so many of them think women and gays in the military are so wonderful they should be led into battle by Pelosi, Graham, McCain’s daughter and Bohner’s daughters.

[tennmountainman]

Very true Gator!

[dfwgator]

Just remember, Pearl Harbor was meant to be a “limited strike”.

[tennmountainman]

And Bonehead’s new “Jamician son n law”

[Grams A]

I would be banned for life if I expressed my opinion on his daughter and the new son-in-law.

[tennmountainman]

LOL.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Exactly! And there were no “boots on the ground” then either.

[dfwgator]

Yeah, but that sure was some “blowback”, wasn’t it?

[VerySadAmerican]

As a usually astute freeper point out, IRS-Benghazi-NSA...all off the front page.

[ncfool]

Well you have to look at what his administration said in March 2011 when sec of state Clinton stated that Assad was a reformer. Is she ready to be the President in 2016? I think not.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/hillary-clintons-uncredible-statement-on-syria/2011/04/01/AFWPEYaC_blog.htmlMarch

Kerry is also quoted in the article.