Quote of the Day

It may well be that the United States will go to war with Syria. But if so, it should be because we have to — not because we want to. For the American people to accept the legitimacy of this conflict and give their consent to it, the Obama administration must first present detailed evidence of the threat of Syria’s weapons of mass destruction and then prove that all other avenues of protecting our nation’s security interests have been exhausted. Exhaustion of remedies is critical to winning the consent of a civilized people in the decision to go to war. And consent, as we have learned before, is essential to carrying out the mission. President Obama’s overdue statement this week that he would consult Congress is a beginning, but the administration’s strategy remains adrift.

— Then-Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), September 6, 2002 in the New York Times. I simply substituted Syria for Iraq, and Obama for Bush in the above passage.

And no, Mr. Obama’s not all that likely to consult Congress. No, Mr. Kerry doesn’t remember what he said back then, and no at this stage in his political career, he’s long past caring how hypocritical it makes him look.