He had no choice but to go to Congress...80% of the public is against this. So, he is trying to make lemon ade after picking the lemons. In his view he cannot lose, if they don’t give their approval, they are against him and not ethical...if they do and something goes wrong, it is their fault. If they do and it goes well, it was his plan.
And if the Republicans don’t go along, they’ll be accused of being hypocrites, if they voted to go to war in Iraq.
I understand comparing the two is comparing apples to oranges, but it will work with the low-information voters.