memeorandum: Rally For Gun Background Checks Quickly Becomes Pro-Gun Event (Jim Heath/WBNS-TV)

11:05 PM ET, August 31, 2013

Top Items:

Obama Will Seek Syria Vote in Congress — WASHINGTON — President Obama stunned the world and paused his march to war on Saturday by asking Congress to give him authorization before he launches a limited military strike against the Syrian government in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Other McCain, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawfare, The Moderate Voice, JustOneMinute, Booman Tribune, Gawker, Althouse, Liberal Values, NPR, The Democratic Daily, Taegan Goddard's … and AL.com

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Rep. Peter King: Obama ‘abdicating responsibility as commander in chief’ — President Obama is abdicating his responsibility as commander in chief by seeking authorization from Congress to attack Syria, Rep. Peter King said Saturday. — In a scathing statement that differed sharply …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Sense of Events

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

President Obama's Big Syria Power Giveaway — But now Congress is the “dog that caught the car,” Axelrod gloats. — President Obama speaks at the Rose Garden of the White House Saturday. — Mike Theiler / Reuters — President Barack Obama's abrupt decision to hand over the choice …

Discussion: WorldViews

Mark Landler / New York Times:

President Pulls Lawmakers Into Box He Made — WASHINGTON — More than once, President Obama has confided to aides that he regards Syria as one of those hellish problems every president faces, where the risks are endless, the choices are all bad, and the pressure to do something is unrelenting.

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:

Hillary Clinton Stays Quiet On Syria — The former Secretary of State, who once pushed to aid and arm the Syrian rebels, has yet to weigh in on Obama's plan for military intervention. A “lasting regret.” — Matt Rourke, File / AP — When the White House debated this week …

Discussion: ABC News and The PJ Tatler

Matthew Larotonda / ABC News:

President Obama Announces Next Steps on Syria, Heads to Golf Course — WASHINGTON — Roughly half an hour after announcing his administration would seek congressional approval for military intervention in Syria's civil war, President Obama left the White House for the golf course.

Discussion: Mediaite, Gawker and Twitchy

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Some see Syria as edge for Obama in fiscal showdown — U.S. military action in Syria could give the White House an advantage in the looming fiscal showdown with congressional Republicans, according to defense and budget experts. — They said the Syria crisis could boost calls by President Obama …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, The Volokh Conspiracy, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog and Ed Driscoll

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:

Obama says U.S. will take military action against Syria, pending Congress's approval — President Obama said Saturday that the United States has decided to use military force against Syria, calling last week's alleged chemical weapons attack there “an attack on human dignity,” …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, WorldViews, Wonkblog, Daily Kos and Corrente

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Obama sends Syria resolution to Hill — The White House has sent Congress a draft resolution authorizing the use of American military force in Syria, with a narrow focus on interdicting chemical weapons — or their use — by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Discussion: Business Insider and Balloon Juice

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Tripping on His Own Red Line?

Discussion: JustOneMinute

CNN:
Obama asks Congress to vote to authorize strike on Syria

Discussion: Global Public Square

Fox News:
President Obama turns to Congress to OK strike against Syria

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Vox Popoli

New York Times:
Experts Fear That U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks

Discussion: The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, The Huffington Post, Pressing Issues, Sense of Events, Hot Air and The Public Editor's Journal, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
‘AMATEUR HOUR’: Krauthammer slams Obama's sudden decision to delay Syria strike [VIDEO]

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The PJ Tatler

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Kerry to appear on all five Sunday shows

Discussion: Politico

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: Obama says he will seek Congressional authorization for strikes

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Scared Monkeys, Patterico's Pontifications and Fox News

NBCNews:
Obama will seek congressional approval before any military action against Syria

Discussion: Associated Press, NPR, AL.com and msnbc.com

Politico:
Obama seeks Syria action, congressional approval

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Reuters, Washington Monthly, Red Alert Politics and The Hill

Ben Geman / The Hill:
Obama to seek congressional approval for Syrian military strike (Video)

Discussion: Business Insider, Israel Matzav and American Power

BBC:
Russia's Vladimir Putin challenges US on Syria claims

Discussion: NPR, JustOneMinute, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Joe. My. God.

Elad Benari / Arutz Sheva:
Erdogan: Syrian Strike Should Topple Assad

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, Jihad Watch and Israpundit

Wall Street Journal:
Obama Seeks Congressional Vote on Syria

Discussion: Washington Wire and Politicker

David Espo / Associated Press:
UN Experts Enter Lebanon After Leaving Syria

Discussion: Guardian

Michael Graham / Boston Herald: U.S. needed Iraqi foothold that prez abandoned

Jonathan Martin / The Caucus:

Mary Cheney Criticizes Her Sister on Same-Sex Marriage — Mary Cheney, the younger sister of Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Senate candidate, sharply criticized her sister's stance on same-sex marriage and urged her own Facebook friends to share the message. — Posting on Facebook on Friday evening …

Discussion: Hot Air, msnbc.com, Joe. My. God., Mediaite, Ballot Box, LGBTQ Nation, The Raw Story, Taegan Goddard's … and The Daily Caller

Daily Mail:

To pee or not to pee: Women sell positive pregnancy tests on Craigslist for $25 each. . . and there is no shortage of motivated buyers — One seller writes ‘Wanna get your boyfriend to pop the question?’, while some buyers are motivated by revenge — A number of women across the country …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit and Jezebel

Karoli / Crooks and Liars:

IRS Scandal Didn't Happen To The Tea Party; It Was Invented By The Tea Party — JennyBeth Martin rallies the troops on May 16, 2013 — Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published an amazingly dishonest profile of Jenny Beth Martin, head of the national Tea Party Patriots organization.

Discussion: The Other McCain and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
G.O.P. Senators Fail to Head Off Primary Challenges by Tea Party Rivals

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Kevin Collier / Salon:

The parody shirt the NSA doesn't want you to wear — The politically themed T-shirt company Liberty Maniacs is in hot water for its latest spoof design — Two days after the world learned the National Security Agency logs practically every American phone call, the agency had started cracking down on entrepreneurs who made fun of it.

Discussion: National Review and Alan Colmes' Liberaland