It went something like this:
Hillary: “Look, I’ve been after you for two weeks now for a decision. Our allies are wondering what we intend to do. I haven’t been able to tell them anything. We’ve got to do SOMETHING.”
0bama: “OK, we’ll do something. Maybe I could make a speech about it.”
Hillary: “You’re joking, right? You made a speech last week about something. Our allies want real action here.”
0bama: “What do the polls say?”
Daley: “We don’t have the polls back on this yet, but some of our friends in the press have started making noises that you aren’t doing anything on some important issues.”
0bama: “Well, I can’t let that happen. We might lose some of our base if the media goes south. What’s the harm of dropping some bombs? OK, drop some bombs. Let me know how it turns out. I’ll be in Rio but you know how to reach me on my Blackberry.”
Sounds about right.