Obama to meet with Democrats before Syria speech

[September 09, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will meet with Senate Democrats Tuesday to seek support for U.S. military action against the government of Syria, a Senate Democratic aide said Sunday.

The meeting at the Capitol would come just hours before Obama addresses the nation in a prime-time speech on Syria from the White House.

The Senate aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publically discuss the meeting before its official announcement.

Obama faces difficult odds to win congressional authorization for any use of force against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Obama blames Assad's military for a chemical weapons attack against civilians last month outside Damascus.

The president is making a determined last-ditch effort for authorization, granting a series of network interviews Monday to make his case. Sunday night, he dropped in on a dinner held by Vice President Joe Biden for Republican senators.

Amid skepticism from both parties, the Senate is expected to hold its first showdown vote on a use-of-force resolution Wednesday.

[Associated Press; By JIM KUHNHENN]

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