CBS host Bob Schieffer endorsed President Obama's call for striking Syria on Sunday's "Face the Nation."
The Sunday talk show hosts do not often make such overt declarations of political opinion, especially around a highly contentious and fast-moving issue such as the proposed attack on Syria. But Schieffer--who has been notably opinionated of late--nevertheless came out in favor of the strikes. His main reasoning: to show the world that the United States meant business:
Put aside how we got from here to there. Put aside that this may have been poorly handled. But here we are. The president of the United States drew a line in the sand, a red line. At this point, that may be the only good reason left for Congress to give him the authority he now asked for to respond to Syria's use of chemical weapons. When the president of the United States says something, the rest of the world, our friends and our enemies, pay attention. If we do not follow through, what impact will that have on North Korea or Iran the next time we warn them of dire consequences if they press on with their nuclear weapons programs? More important, how will it be viewed by our strong allies like Japan? We have treaties that promise we will retaliate if they are attacked by nuclear powers. Will they now question our resolve? I don't like anything about where we are, but in a dangerous world when the United States takes a stand, and then goes back on its word, we're left in an even more dangerous place.
(h/t Mediaite)
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