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Originally Posted by djchameleon
I don't think he cares about looking weak or else he would have just done the strikes without going to Congress first.
He also wouldn't agree to the current Syria agreement about turning over the chemical weapons.
All the republicans are saying that he's the weakest president to ever hold the job. They got war/violence blue balls, they just wanted the US to blow up shit.
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Obama knows striking is a risky move and his political opponents will pounce on him if it backfires. They'd also pounce on him if he backed out. There was really no easy way out for Obama. Going to Congress forced his opponents and supporters alike to own some share of the responsibility in the decision. Of course it seems to have been a miscalculation on his part, since ultimately he did want them to vote it through.
The compromise with Russia and Syria actually provides another potentially convenient way out for Obama. Some people are saying this also makes him look bad, and makes Putin look strong. But Obama has a point when he points out that Assad probably wouldn't be willing to come to the table if there wasn't a tangible military threat.
If this compromise doesn't work, it seems like the momentum for Obama's proposed strikes has sort of deflated. I'm not sure what would happen next in that case.