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1.) The buck stops
“President Barack Obama announced on Saturday that he has decided to strike the Syrian military in retaliation for its nerve gas attack on civilians — but that he’ll wait for Congressional authorization before launching an attack. ‘I’m ready to act in the face of this outrage,’ he said. ‘Today, I’m asking Congress to send a message to the rest of the world that we are ready to move together.’ ‘I have the authority to carry out this military action … [and] I know the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be more effective’ if it is approved by Congress, he said in a short statement delivered in the White House’s Rose Garden.”
There are — at least — two ways of looking at this. After not asking Congress to approve the Libyan intervention, Obamacare delays and certain immigration reforms, perhaps President Obama suddenly decided a year after he issued his red line, months after the first chemical attack and 10 days after the most recent chemical attack, that he should bring the issue of military intervention in Syria to Congress. Granted, not right away — when Congress gets back from recess in a week. The other possibility is, like in the Illinois state Senate, he found a way to vote “present” on an issue he doesn’t want to shoulder responsibility for. But give the president some credit here. He may finally bring bipartisanship to Washington. There will be Democrats and Republicans who support his Syrian intervention resolution, and Democrats and Republicans who don’t.
2.) President Obama has lost … David Gergen? – It’s one thing for President Obama dismay John Bolton and Charles Krauthammer with his Syria decision, but David Gergen? TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports:
“On Sunday’s ‘State of the Union’ on CNN, former presidential adviser and CNN contributor David Gergen warned that President Barack Obama’s handling of the Syrian crisis could induce the Russians to aggressively involve themselves with the war-torn country. … Gergen said that Obama, however, has looked as if he’s lost control of this situation as a commander-in-chief, which other nations could perceive as a sign of weakness. ‘I think the bigger risk, what the president has to work on here, is that you can say it’s wise to call for the Congress to do this, but the way he went about it, it was so jerky and unpredictable, that I think it’s raised questions about just how firm a grip he has on the wheel as a commander in chief,’ Gergen added. ‘I mean, after all, starting with the drawing of the red line itself, which seemed to be sort of almost ‘by the way, it’s a red line,’ as opposed to a well thought-out plan, and now we have no apparent strategy for long term in the Middle East. Nick [Burns] knows this better than I do, but presidents need to be seen in control of events and sort of guiding events, and not just reacting or bouncing around.’”
When you’ve lost David Gergen, you’ve lost at least 6 other people.
3.) The hundred man march — Polls show Americans are not yet supportive of Syrian intervention — but they don’t seem opposed enough to gather in great numbers to protest it. At least, not yet. The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Brendan Bordelon reports:
“Hundreds of demonstrators crowded in front of the White House on Saturday, braving the sweltering midday heat to protest impending military strikes on Syria. Antiwar protesters, many bearing yellow signs reading ‘War on Syria: Built on a Lie,’ marched in front of the wrought-iron fence bordering the White House’s northern lawn, while inside President Obama prepared to make a statement on military intervention. ‘They say more war, we say no more!’ activists chanted, along with ‘Hey! Obama! Hands off Syria!’”
You could get more people to attend a speech even by, well, David Gergen.
4.) Rocky Mountain low — Colorado spent a lot of mulla for a lot of crapola. The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Greg Campbell reports:
“The state of Colorado has unveiled a new $1.5 million logo and slogan to a rather underwhelming response. The state’s new official brand is a clip-art-like green triangle meant to resemble a snow-peaked mountain, with the letters ‘CO’ in the middle. The new state slogan is ‘It’s our nature.’ The logo was immediately panned as looking like a hazmat placard or a traffic sign. Comments on Making Colorado’s Facebook page pulled no punches. ‘It’s a green triangle, [sorry], have you ever seen a triangular free-standing mountain like that in CO?’ wrote one person. ‘This is what I would expect to see a 1st grader draw when asked to draw the mountains.’”
5.) Tweet of Yesterday – Eli Lake: It’s a good thing Obama is president now and America has restored its standing in the international community.
6.) Today in North Korean News – BREAKING: “S. Korean Regime Accused of Turning S. Korea into Tundra of Human Rights”
VIDEO: TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein asks, why didn’t Obama seek congressional authorization before declaring the red line?
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