Obama Faces Uphill Fight In Congress
W. Post's Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan lay out Obama's political challenge: "...consider that roughly 40 percent of House Democrats voted against the use of force resolution against Iraq in 2002 ... [Obama] is playing for his legacy ... the Democratic members he will ask to vote in favor of striking Syria are playing for the 2014 election ... because of how Iraq (and the lack of WMDs) played out, the hurdle is that much higher."
WH open to congressional limitations, reports W. Post: "...officials said Monday that they are willing to rewrite the proposed resolution to clarify that any operation would be limited in scope and duration and would not include the use of ground troops.
President gets assist from McCain. NYT: "There appeared to be broad agreement with the president, Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham said, that any attack on Syria should be to 'degrade' the Syrian government’s delivery systems. Such a strike could include aircraft, artillery and the kind of rockets that the Obama administration says the forces of President Bashar al-Assad used to carry out an Aug. 21 sarin attack in the Damascus suburbs that killed more than 1,400 people."
Some Dems push back on WH conf call. AP: "Several Democrats in a conference call with administration officials pushed back against military action, questioning both the intelligence about a chemical attack last month outside Damascus and the value of an intervention to United States interests, according to aides on the call. Others demanded narrower authorization than that requested by the administration."
GOP split as well. NYT: "The Congressional vote on whether to strike Syria will offer the best insight yet on which wing of the Republican Party — the traditional hawks, or a growing bloc of noninterventionists — has the advantage in the fierce internal debates over foreign policy that have been taking place all year."
Syria operation might force rollback of sequestration. CNN: "Implicit with such a campaign would be the needed restoration of military funding cut by austerity measures and transformation policies in recent years, including the forced spending cuts known as sequestration imposed by Congress for the current fiscal year."
Has Larry Summers Already Cost Us Jobs?
Markets think Larry Summers would end monetary stimulus. NYT: "The jitters even have some analysts betting that a Summers nomination could lead to slower economic growth, less job creation and higher interest rates than if the president named Janet L. Yellen, the Fed’s vice chairwoman ... Businesses raising money and people buying homes and cars all have faced higher interest rates in recent months ... a wide range of financial analysts also see evidence of a Summers effect."
Dean Baker translates: "NYT: Larry Summers Already Costing Jobs"
Breakfast Sides
Major immigration rallies planned. The Hill: "...advocates for comprehensive immigration reform say they will escalate their efforts in the fall with larger rallies and demonstrations aimed at a national audience ... some leaders in the movement are voicing frustration that the more narrowly tailored activities used during the August recess have failed to maximize pressure on House Republican leaders to take up immigration legislation ... A series of demonstrations and rallies are planned for major cities on Oct. 5 ahead of a march in Washington on Oct. 8."
"Detroit Billionaires Get Hockey Arena as Bankrupt City Suffers" reports Bloomberg: "The 18,000-seat complex and a planned $200 million private development nearby would transform a blighted area into one with apartments, offices, restaurants and shops, says [Gov. Rick] Snyder, who controls the city through an appointed manager. Critics call the plan a giveaway to Mike Ilitch, owner of the Red Wings, the Tigers and the Little Caesar’s pizza chain."
Housing recovery not reaching black community. Bloomberg: "For most Americans, the real estate crash is finally behind them and personal wealth is back where it was in the boom. For blacks in the U.S., 18 years of economic progress has vanished, with a rebound in housing slipping further out of reach and the unemployment rate almost twice that of whites. The homeownership rate for blacks fell from 50 percent during the housing bubble to 43 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 1995. The rate for whites stopped falling two years ago, settling at about 73 percent, only 3 percentage points below the 2004 peak, according to the Census Bureau."
