An Impaired Speech

The commander in chief addressed the nation last night regarding Syria. The address had been planned to bolster support for a military strike against Bashar al-Assad's regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons against rebel fighters. But, thanks to Secretary of State John Kerry's gaffe resulting in yesterday's Russian proposal to “secure” and dismantle Syria's weapons, Obama's address ended up merging two speeches—one pleading for congressional authorization for an imminent attack and another asking Congress to delay its vote until a diplomatic solution plays out.