One need only look to the whip count numbers on Syria to understand why Barack Obama decided he had to do a broadcast and cable network blitz on Monday. A friendly media may portray it as his ‘pulling out all the stops,’ but the reality is, it’s defensive and he had little choice.
As per CNN’s latest numbers, the Senate stands at 25 Yes votes, 20 No with 55 Undecideds. But the direction was very clear by the time Obama made the announcement of his media blitz, plus Senator Rand Paul and perhaps others may be looking to hold out for a 60 vote majority.
It’s even worse for Obama on the House side. There are already 123 Nay’s to just 24 Yea’s, with 272 Undecideds. Meanwhile,Congressional office after office has reported intense constituent pressure against any strike. It doesn’t take a weatherman to know the winds weren’t blowing in Obama’s favor on Syria.
To his credit, the gambit worked in so far as it seems to have frozen the numbers … for now. But in the end, that just makes the stakes all the higher for Obama as he sits down with the nation’s news anchors on Monday to make his case to a seemingly reluctant and perhaps still war weary nation.
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