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A still-bearded Mark Halperin said Friday he was not sure President Obama could win the crucial Congressional vote to authorize military action in Syria.
Various whip counts from news outlets have suggested that the representatives who favor a strike are outnumbered by the ones who are opposed. Though several pundits have advised caution at reading the tea leaves so early in the game, others, like Halperin, appear to be close to throwing in the towel.
"Yesterday I thought [Obama would win the vote]; now I'm deeply skeptical," Halperin said on Friday's "Morning Joe." "Time is not on the president's side right now...public opinion and the member dynamics are all going against the White House. I'm not sure, now, how they get time back on their side."
That view was echoed in a piece in Politico on Thursday night:
If the House voted today on a resolution to attack Syria, President Barack Obama would lose — and lose big. That’s the private assessment of House Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides who are closely involved in the process.
NBC's First Read blog had a similar take. "Right now, the administration is losing," a post read.