One pissed-off but cautious president

Sometime overnight the ghost of David Cameron's (presumed) blunder visited the White House and whispered, "Follow me."

If Obama lacked religion before, he's surely got it now. There is a God, and He gave up his only British prime minister to save the American president's ass. Proof of modern miracles; that and the miraculous fact that David Cameron is, after all, good for something.

So to Congress our intervention goes, where it's likely to meet a squishy afterlife. Obama's punt will be savaged by Congress' McCains and Grahams, of course, but what the hell. It's what they do. The important thing is that Congress is where difficult decisions go to die, and Obama just kicked this one up the Capitol steps. Good for him, and I mean that.

What I found remarkable, however--quite aside from the chief executive's suddenly discovered Whiggism--was Obama's unconcealed fury at the present "international system." Look, he bellowed in so many words, we either mean this lovely crap about "norms"--or we don't. Let's make up our minds. If we do, then let us unite in action, and if we don't, well, then at least the U.S. will know what hand it's been dealt; and it can proceed accordingly--which, one assumes, would be in alignment with another international system, of every man for himself.

***

I should add ...

We'll have to see how this plays out, but for now it appears that Obama unstuck himself from what seemed like a hopelessly stuck position, which indeed seemed stuck only because of the Obama administration's repeated vows to see its way through to a punitive strike, no matter what. How the administration's reverse course plays out politically over the next few days and weeks? Who the hell knows.

As for John Kerry, he must be fuming--somewhere, out in the cold, where he was left--having twice made to the world a passionate case for absolutely inescapable action. How humiliating this must be for him. And I mean that, too.

Comments

[suesometimes]

I am very happy for his caution. To me it shows courage rather than the macho "I'm a war President" of the past. Kicking this into the Congress is great. The British House made their stance know immediately...it may take months for ours to even bring it to a vote. In the meantime, keep our ships off shore with the threat of using force. Don't get me wrong, I am sicken by the pictures of children killed by gas or by any means, but the U.S., sadly cannot police the world.

[Peter G]

I see people still don't believe Cameron's party whip could count votes before they are cast. Obama is wise to follow suit. This is a debate that should be welcomed.

[Jimiskin]

1-I believe there is considerably more to this than meets the eye. Actions and talks behind the scene helped make it clear that this was a terrible idea with worse consequences.
2-I believe Obama's controllers greatly overestimated the persuasive effect of his popularity. To quote a great philosopher, "There's some of this shit I'm just not going to eat."

[Chris Andersen]

How is this a reversal of course? He says he thinks he has the authority to strike Syria. How is this a reversal? He says he is going to ask Congress to approve. How is this a reversal?

A lot of the talk about this seems to be based on a lot of assumptions about what Obama was going to do. Yet no evidence is offered to show that what people thought he was going to do was actually what he was going to do.

No, it's just a lot of self-congratulatory "we persuaded him to change his mind" talk.

[Janicket]

Yeh, Chris, the banshee left loves to claim credit for anything good that Obama does, after relentlessly attacking him for what they imagine he's going to do (which generally isn't even close to what he actually does).

With friends like these....