The Syria Vote: Why Obama Wins If He Loses (From Forbes)

Everybody in Washington seems to think that President Obama will suffer a major loss of political influence if Congress rejects his plan for military strikes against Syria. However, a case can be made that the opposite is true, at least over the long run. If Congress says “no” and strikes are abandoned, Obama will avoid the adverse consequences of military action — which could be quite substantial — while still being seen as a man of principles. The president will be largely absolved of responsibility for anything that later goes wrong in Syria, and also escape the charge that by acting unilaterally the U.S. subverted global institutions. In addition, a Congressional “no” vote would minimize potential damage to the U.S. economic recovery while allowing the president to focus on his domestic agenda — positioning Democrats well for midterm elections next year. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.