Odds against Obama

Lay your bets, ladies and gentlemen. Will President Obama get the support he wants from Congress for an attack against Syria, or will he suffer an historic and humiliating defeat? At the moment the odds are long against him.

Various news organizations contacting members of Congress report that the nays outpace the ayes by at least 3-1. A Washington Post count of the House of Representatives was much worse. With 371 out of the 435 members of the House contacted, 204 were against or leaning against and only 24 were in favour with 143 undecided. He may well win the Senate, although it will be close, but the House is a long shot indeed.

Obama would seem to have a very big sales job to pull off in a very short period of time, particularly with the American public strongly against the war.

While a defeat would be a devastating rebuke to Obama, the biggest losers might be House Leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor. They support the measure while most rank-and-file Republicans are opposed. Yet another division in the Republican Party would be opened up. Yet another reason to hope the resolution fails.