NP - Obama's Smart Move

[David Morris]

The best thing about Obama's giving this back to Congress will be our
Nation's newly focused (15 secs?) attention on their Reps & Senats response
to Declaring War(!).  Will Boner survive?  Will Cruz missile?


On Sunday, September 1, 2013, Ian Livingston wrote:

> My point exactly. Except that I'm saying this may be an opportunity for
> Congress to start working on that problem. Or they can just bicker and do
> nothing, as is usual these days.
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 8:58 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'fqmorris at gmail.com');>
> > wrote:
>
>> The law of the land you refer to has long been deeply discounted.  And I
>> blame Congress, not the Executive, for that.  If Congress alone has the
>> power to start a war, it should have claimed that right by action long ago.
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, September 1, 2013, Ian Livingston wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, I think it was very smart of him to obey the law in this case.
>>> Maybe it can be  step toward getting the executive branch back into trim.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Sep 1, 2013 at 5:45 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Juan Cole:
>>>>
>>>> So by Friday, Obama had painted himself into a box with repeated
>>>> statements that he had to attack Syria because of the gas attack. But as he
>>>> looked behind him, the troops he was leading had thinned out faster than
>>>> Custer’s at the Little Bighorn.
>>>>
>>>> With regard to domestic politics, Obama would be pilloried on Capitol
>>>> Hill if he backed down as his international support (and elements of his
>>>> case) collapsed. If he went forward with a unilateral strike, he would be
>>>> alone and exposed, and risk extreme reputational damage if the operation
>>>> went bad. (What if a cruise missile went astray and hit a village, killing
>>>> women and children? What if the missile strikes riled up radical Shiites in
>>>> Iraq and US facilities in that country were attacked).
>>>>
>>>> Obama made a clever political calculation. The Tea Party and the GOP in
>>>> general had been demanding that he submit the Syria file to them. So he
>>>> obliged them. If they say ‘no,’ as the British parliament did, then Obama
>>>> is off the hook. If they say ‘yes,’ then they are full partners in any
>>>> failures that result. Either way, the issue is taken off the agenda of the
>>>> 2016 election and Democrats are held harmless.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/congress-international-collapses.html
>>>>
>>>> On Sunday, September 1, 2013, David Morris wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Remember the 60-year history of the post-WW II imperial presidency, in
>>>>> which all wars are police actions and can be initiated by presidential fiat?
>>>>>
>>>>> That horse left the barn long ago...
>>>>>
>>>>> On Saturday, August 31, 2013, Rich Clavey wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Yeah but he still sez he has the right to do it on his own.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>
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