Posted on 09/11/2013 9:58:49 AM PDT by jazusamo
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) argued Wednesday that President Obama should consider bombing Syria without congressional approval, because the credibility of the White House is now on the line.
McCain said that if Obama acts before any vote in Congress, he could argue that he has acted in conformity with past administrations, including President Reagan’s invasion of Grenada in the 1980s.
“He notified everybody the next morning,” McCain noted at a Wall Street Journal breakfast roundtable.
The senior Republican acknowledged the decision would be a difficult one, but he said he did not think members of his own party would try to remove President Obama from office if he acted in the vital national interest.
“They’re not going to impeach the president. They’re not that crazy,” he told reporters after the event.
McCain said he has been wrestling with the question of whether Obama should ignore Congress.
“There are times when the president of the United States has to act in the national interest and that clashes with my view we are a nation of laws, governed by the Constitution and the separation of powers,” he said.
“I do believe there are times, particularly prior to World War II, we have the example of Franklin Roosevelt taking actions that Congress would never have approved … Abraham Lincoln acted unilaterally in the Civil War,” he added.
McCain said the world should know within as little as 48 hours whether a Russian proposal to put Syrian chemical weapons under international control is merely a “rope-a-dope” stalling tactic.
The best way to test the Russian proposal, he said, is to bring it to the United Nations Security Council and see if the Russians veto a resolution that is backed by the threat of force and which authorizes international weapons inspections on the ground in Syria.
If the Russian proposal is a ruse, Obama will have a stronger argument in favor of military action.
“I think that, one, that the president of the United States should go back, if this fails, this Russian initiative, and convince the American people again,” McCain said. "Then I think the president has to decide what’s in our vital national interest.”
“If he launched an attack on Syria without the endorsement of Congress, it would be vastly more complicated if Congress had already acted. If he acted without the agreement of Congress, you could make the argument before the resolution was passed … that he is acting as other president have.”
“It he is a very, very difficult situation,” McCain said.
He said that a failed vote in Congress would be “catastrophic” and could damage future presidential power. Failure to act could embolden Iran, threaten Israel and “diminish” the White House in the eyes of the world, he said.
McCain acknowledged that the congressional GOP has emerged as the chief obstacle to acting in Syria. He said a “battle” is raging for the soul of the Republican Party and internationalists must prevail over isolationists, whom he called “wacko-birds.”
He said he would be having dinner Wednesday with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a leading opponent of involvement in Syria.
McCain acknowledged that missteps by the Bush administration in Iraq have fostered a renewed isolationism.
“The American people and the world were not told the truth about weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “I understand why they are skeptical.”
McCain said Obama’s Tuesday night speech, overall, was “good,” but Obama should have shown more support for the rebel movement and tried to dispel any idea they are Muslim extremists.
“They must have been dispirited last night by president’s failure to mention that they deserved our support,” he said.
It also might have been at the request of the legitimate government.
Some enterprising reporter (alternative media of course) needs to find out who's his daddy.
Impeach them both.
Seriously. This man is not fit for any office or even any job. I much prefer Barack Obama to John McCain.
And I don't prefer Barack Obama.
Yes he is bomb happy, he’s way over the edge into the abyss.
You are right. Why doesn't this ass hat just switch to the Rat party, and make it official?
Hello? America elected (and RE-ELECTED!) an African communist "community organizer" from Chicago as President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. How much more "diminished" can the White House possibly get?
Will somebody please put a white coat on McCain and wheel him to a nice home somewhere?
We're screwed. The fix is in and will be in 2016 too.
Freep You John McCain (FUJM)!! FUBO!!
I feel obama want a delay on the vote, so he could front run congress by bombing first then requesting permission later. If he was to bomb after the vote against it. it will make him look bad
Number One: They produce more nutmeg than any other spot on Earth.
Number two: The Soviets and the Cubans are trying to take Grenada.
Number three: You can't have good eggnog without nutmeg.
Number four: You can't have Christmas without eggnog.
Number five: the Soviets and the Cubans were trying to steal Christmas.
And number six, we stopped them.
The people of Arizona owe it to the rest of the country to recall this dangerous idiot.
He’s insane.
McLoser,this is NOT the same as Grenada..
There is no threat posed to America or its interests by Syria fighting a civil war entirely within its own boundaries.
Grenada had an imminent threat of physical harm to American students.
If Obama attacks without a threat, he needs to be impeached.
This TWIT was forced on us by the Establishment GOP
as President no less.
bump to the top!
My sentiments as well.
if Obama straps the bomb to McCain first, I am all for it.
Cause Heaven Forbid that the vaunted war hero John McLame be denied what he wants by something as trivial as voters and citizens.
Nor his contempt of the Constitution. And this was a GOP contender for the office of President?!
If AZ has a recall option, they should be passing out the sign-up sheets left/right.
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