#alternate POLITICO * Magazine + Magazine Home + Today's Cover + Opinion + Latest Stories + Weekly Email Signups + What Works * The Agenda + The Agenda + The Cyber Issue + Paying For It + Education + Transportation + Internet of Things + Future of Power + The Debrief * Policy + Agriculture + Cybersecurity + Defense + Education + eHealth + Energy & Environment + Finance & Tax + Health Care + Labor & Employment + Technology + Trade + Transportation & Infrastructure * PRO + POLITICO Pro Home Page + Why Go Pro? * Latest 50 50 50 New Ex-Boehner aide to head Portman’s communications team 01/13/16 05:13 AM EST Ex-Boehner aide to head Portman’s communications team By Burgess Everett Former Boehner communications director Kevin Smith will serve as chief spokesman and deputy chief of staff to the Ohio Republican senator McConnell and Ryan try to get along Congress 01/13/16 05:12 AM EST McConnell and Ryan try to get along By Burgess Everett and Jake Sherman The 2 GOP leaders are polar opposites in many ways, and so are their goals for 2016. Pollster: Cruz would hurt Republican House hopefuls most 2016 01/13/16 05:11 AM EST Pollster: Cruz would hurt Republican House hopefuls most By Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan Paul Ryan and other leaders were told the Texas senator would be bad news for the party's House prospects. Republicans warn Bush team against harming Rubio 2016 01/13/16 05:10 AM EST Republicans warn Bush team against harming Rubio By Eli Stokols ‘Does he want his legacy to be that he elected Donald Trump,’ GOP strategist asks. POLITICO's inside look at the State of the Union Photo gallery 01/13/16 03:01 AM EST POLITICO's inside look at the State of the Union By M. Scott Mahaskey and John Shinkle Obama: What he said vs. What he meant 01/13/16 01:17 AM EST Obama: What he said vs. What he meant Obama hangs up his magic wand WHITE HOUSE 01/13/16 12:59 AM EST Obama hangs up his magic wand By Edward-Isaac Dovere In a fuzzy speech with plenty of sharp edges, the president asked Americans to believe in the change he’d brought. Obama’s Rearview Look Ahead POLITICS 01/13/16 12:48 AM EST Obama’s Rearview Look Ahead By Michael Grunwald A president dismissed as a speechifier delivers a big load of “yes, I did.” Obama's 2016 opponent: Donald Trump 2016 01/13/16 12:44 AM EST Obama's 2016 opponent: Donald Trump By Ben Schreckinger Without even uttering his name, the president repudiated the politics of Donald Trump -- and sought to take the GOP field down a peg. Pro-Cruz super PAC rips Rubio on immigration and national security in new ad 01/13/16 12:22 AM EST Pro-Cruz super PAC rips Rubio on immigration and national security in new ad By Alex Isenstadt The ad is the latest in a series attacking Marco Rubio. Obama turns his back on Congress 01/13/16 12:08 AM EST Obama turns his back on Congress By Lauren French, Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim The 5,400 word speech included just four direct asks of Congress. Kim Davis' review of Obama: 'It was a speech' Updated 01/13/16 12:06 AM EST Kim Davis' review of Obama: 'It was a speech' By Nolan D. McCaskill “It was a speech,” she says. Obama's vision of the world clashes with TV reality 01/13/16 12:05 AM EST Obama's vision of the world clashes with TV reality By Michael Crowley The president's address depicted a world very different from what Americans are seeing on TV and from GOP candidates. Full video: State of the Union 2016 01/13/16 12:02 AM EST Full video: State of the Union 2016 Impromptu visitor asks the speaker for time to lecture the House, Jan. 13, 1955 01/13/16 12:02 AM EST Impromptu visitor asks the speaker for time to lecture the House, Jan. 13, 1955 By Andrew Glass On this day in 1955, an out-of-work stenographer walked onto the House floor and asked permission to address Congress. State of the Union 2016 full Republican response 01/13/16 12:01 AM EST State of the Union 2016 full Republican response State of the Union vs. State of the Trump Simon Says 01/13/16 12:00 AM EST State of the Union vs. State of the Trump By Roger Simon Simon says: It's good to have a president who expresses remorse. State of the Union 2016 highlights 01/12/16 11:58 PM EST State of the Union 2016 highlights The bizarre moments you didn't see on camera 01/12/16 11:47 PM EST The bizarre moments you didn't see on camera By Jake Sherman At the State of the Union, Congress drops some of its stuffy formality. The 9 most memorable lines from the SOTU Updated 01/12/16 11:41 PM EST The 9 most memorable lines from the SOTU By Kyle Cheney Here are the lines you'll hear most. Is Poland a failing democracy? Is Poland a failing democracy? By POLITICO Staff POLITICO asked leading thinkers, politicians and policymakers to weigh in on the Polish question. Pope alienates base, sees numbers drop Pope alienates base, sees numbers drop By Jacopo Barigazzi New data show a sharp decline in attendance at Vatican events. Nikki Haley's speech not a hit on the far right 01/12/16 11:34 PM EST Nikki Haley's speech not a hit on the far right By Hadas Gold Over at Breitbart, Haley's response was equated to an open-border policy. Reince Priebus blasts Obama's 'victory lap' 01/12/16 11:32 PM EST Reince Priebus blasts Obama's 'victory lap' By Nolan D. McCaskill America isn’t any safer, freer or more prosperous since Obama took the White House, he says. State of the Union 2016: Obama's big questions for the future 01/12/16 11:28 PM EST State of the Union 2016: Obama's big questions for the future Haley swipes at Trump in State of the Union response Updated 01/12/16 11:22 PM EST Haley swipes at Trump in State of the Union response By Rachael Bade Gov. Haley: “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.” Obama: What he said vs. What he meant State of the Union Updated 01/12/16 11:20 PM EST Obama: What he said vs. What he meant By Darren Samuelsohn POLITICO decodes the rhetoric in Obama's final State of the Union address. Obama's final State of the Union, by the numbers 01/12/16 11:09 PM EST Obama's final State of the Union, by the numbers By Manuela Tobias Congress interrupted the president with applause 64 times in just under 59 minutes. Top social moments of Obama's State of the Union 01/12/16 10:59 PM EST Top social moments of Obama's State of the Union By Hadas Gold The top topics on Twitter were foreign affairs, energy and the environment and the economy. Obama calls for an end to divisive politics 01/12/16 10:45 PM EST Obama calls for an end to divisive politics Gov. Nikki Haley Delivers the Republican Address to the Nation 01/12/16 10:44 PM EST Gov. Nikki Haley Delivers the Republican Address to the Nation 'Good evening. Would-be presidents tweet away during speech Updated 01/12/16 10:29 PM EST Would-be presidents tweet away during speech By Nolan D. McCaskill Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton posted tweets leveraging Obama’s remarks to argue for another four years of a Democratic White House. Obama throws some SOTU elbows at Trump 01/12/16 10:24 PM EST Obama throws some SOTU elbows at Trump Trump's low-energy livetweets 01/12/16 10:18 PM EST Trump's low-energy livetweets By Nolan D. McCaskill Donald Trump, predictably, was not a fan of the State of the Union. GOP candidates make unnamed appearances in Obama's SOTU 01/12/16 10:11 PM EST GOP candidates make unnamed appearances in Obama's SOTU By Kyle Cheney Here's a rundown of the less-than subtle shots. Obama puts Biden in 'Mission Control' to find cancer cure 01/12/16 10:06 PM EST Obama puts Biden in 'Mission Control' to find cancer cure The Wrongometer The Wrongometer POLITICO's analysis of where President Obama field stretched the truth, steered around some inconvenient facts, or just plain got it wrong. Obama mentions guns once in SOTU 01/12/16 09:46 PM EST Obama mentions guns once in SOTU By Sarah Wheaton The president spent less time on the issue than he has in recent weeks. Obama's first SOTU applause line — from Republicans 01/12/16 09:38 PM EST Obama's first SOTU applause line — from Republicans Obama's first SOTU applause line — from Republicans 01/12/16 09:26 PM EST Obama's first SOTU applause line — from Republicans By Kyle Cheney Republicans burst into applause, and Obama beamed knowingly. Obama throws some SOTU elbows at Trump 01/12/16 09:25 PM EST Obama throws some SOTU elbows at Trump By Blake Hounshell He took at least three clear shots at Trump in his remarks. Obama: I'll travel the country to push campaign finance, redistricting reform 01/12/16 09:24 PM EST Obama: I'll travel the country to push campaign finance, redistricting reform By Kyle Cheney Obama promises a final-year push on political reform. New Clinton ad praises Obama on gun control 01/12/16 09:15 PM EST New Clinton ad praises Obama on gun control By Gabriel Debenedetti Clinton continues to draw contrasts with Bernie Sanders on guns. Clinton shrugs off Sanders surge: 'Totally predictable' 01/12/16 09:09 PM EST Clinton shrugs off Sanders surge: 'Totally predictable' By Nolan D. McCaskill Clinton has gone after his policies on guns, health care and taxes. Rand Paul skipping SOTU 01/12/16 09:01 PM EST Rand Paul skipping SOTU By Kyle Cheney Paul followed Sen. Ted Cruz in opting out of President Barack Obama's final annual address to Congress. White House releases State of the Union text 01/12/16 08:58 PM EST White House releases State of the Union text By Nolan D. McCaskill The White House published Obama's remarks in a post on Medium. Ted Cruz delivers mock State of the Union address 01/12/16 08:57 PM EST Ted Cruz delivers mock State of the Union address By Katie Glueck Not to be left out, Ted Cruz gave his own speech, taking shots at Washington. Homeland Security secretary named 'designated survivor' Updated 01/12/16 08:55 PM EST Homeland Security secretary named 'designated survivor' By Nolan D. McCaskill Jeh Johnson will watch the State of the Union from an undisclosed location. President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address 01/12/16 08:54 PM EST President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address The speech as prepared for delivery. Ryan continues poverty focus with State of the Union guests 01/12/16 08:47 PM EST Ryan continues poverty focus with State of the Union guests By Scott Bland The new speaker just hosted a poverty forum with GOP presidential candidates. You're All Caught Up We're working on more stories right now Check out today's hot topics + Hillary Clinton + Jeb Bush + Bernie Sanders + Mitch McConnell + Elizabeth Warren + John Boehner + Rand Paul + Harry Reid * Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Search * Login + Account Details + Log In Log Out * U.S. Edition + Europe Edition + POLITICO Florida + POLITICO New Jersey + POLITICO New York + POLITICO Media Menu Sections * Congress * White House * Magazine * The Agenda * 2016 Elections Events * Morning Money Breakfast * Outside In * Playbook Live * Solving for Y * See All Events >> Multimedia * All Video * Podcasts * Driving the Day * The Debrief * Playback Blogs & Columns * Roger Simon * On Media * Josh Gerstein * The Gavel * Rich Lowry Series * What Works * Women Rule * POLITICO Caucus Connect With Us * * IFRAME: //platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.html?screen_name=polit ico * 20161112_barack_obama_front_3_MSM_1160.jpg Obama accuses GOP of fearmongering * 160112_ted_cruz_nh_ap_1160.jpg Ted Cruz prepares a big surprise in New Hampshire * 160112_bernie_sanders_poll_getty_1160.jpg Sanders bests Clinton in new early state polls * SOTU_Graphic.jpg The States of Our Union … Are Not All Strong * * 160111_barack_obama_gty_1160.jpg Obama struggling to get attention for the State of the Union * Shares * Facebook * Twitter * Google + * Email * Comment * Print obama_putin_AP.jpg Obama, right, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin pose for members of the media before a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters. | AP Rift in Obama administration over Putin The president’s reluctance to respond assertively is signaling U.S. weakness and indecision, some officials say. By Michael Crowley 10/13/15 05:12 AM EDT Updated 10/21/15 04:55 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Vladimir Putin’s intervention in Syria is creating new rifts inside an exhausted and in some cases demoralized Obama national security team, where officials pushing for bolder action see the president as stubbornly unwilling to assume new risk as he nears his final year in office. Current and former Obama officials say the president’s reluctance to respond more assertively against Putin is signaling U.S. weakness and indecision. “We’re just so reactive,” said one senior administration official. “There’s just this tendency to wait” and see what steps other actors take. Story Continued Below Putin’s direct military intervention — following years of indirect support for Syrian ruler Bashar Assad — has broken any momentum Obama had after sealing his nuclear deal with Iran. Secretary of State John Kerry had hoped to follow through on the agreement by working with Iran and Russia to win a political settlement in Syria, a goal that now seems fanciful. Adding to the frustration is the high-profile failure of the Pentagon plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, which is being downsized. “They’re on their back feet right now,” said a former senior Obama foreign policy hand. Obama has recently approved the supply of ammunition to Kurdish and Arab fighters in northern Syria, and the Pentagon training program is being repurposed to arm trusted rebel commanders in the field. Midlevel officials throughout the administration have also been asked to “dust off old plans,” as one put it, and brainstorm new potential approaches to Syria and Russia. bob_corker_AP.jpg Sen. Corker considering subpoena for Kerry By Burgess Everett But expectations are low that those efforts will lead anywhere. Sources familiar with administration deliberations said that Obama’s West Wing inner circle serves as a brick wall against dissenting views. The president’s most senior advisers — including National Security Adviser Susan Rice and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough — reflect the president’s wariness of escalated U.S. action related to Syria or Russia and, officials fear, fail to push Obama to question his own deeply rooted assumptions. “Susan and Denis channel him,” says a former administration official who has witnessed the dynamic. That dynamic is not new. But Putin’s escalation has combined two of Obama’s biggest foreign policy headaches — a newly aggressive Russia and Syria’s civil war — into one throbbing migraine. In senior meetings, some of Obama’s top national security officials have pressed for a bolder response to Putin’s muscle-flexing in Syria. They include Kerry, who has argued for establishing a no-fly zone in Syria, an option Obama recently suggested is “half-baked.” A former Cold War nuclear deterrence expert, Defense Secretary Ash Carter has fretted that the U.S. isn’t standing up firmly to Putin's provocations. And CIA Director John Brennan has complained that Putin is bombing Syrian rebel fighters covertly backed by his agency with seeming impunity. “The optics are that we’re backing off,” said a former Obama official who handled foreign policy issues. “It’s not like we can’t exert pressure on these guys, but we act like we’re totally impotent.” Obama’s refusal to take firmer action against Moscow has increasingly isolated several of his administration’s Russia specialists, who almost uniformly take a harder line toward Putin than does the president himself. They include Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs; Celeste Wallander, the National Security Council’s senior director for Russia and Eurasia; and Evelyn Farkas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. Farkas’ recent announcement that she will exit the Obama administration this fall raised eyebrows among officials aware of her frustration that Obama hasn’t responded more forcefully to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his support for pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east. (Farkas has told friends that she is not resigning over policy disputes.) Smoke rises after airstrikes in Kafr Nabel of the Idlib province in western Syria on Oct. 1, 2015. Obama avoids a showdown in Syria By Michael Crowley Obama did face a public challenge in the form of an interview on CBS' “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, in which the president grew visibly annoyed as interviewer Steve Kroft pressed him on the modest results of his campaign against the Islamic State and on whether Putin was successfully “challenging your leadership.” Standing his ground, Obama repeated his argument that it would be a mistake to overreact to Putin, who he says is acting out of weakness, and that the Syria morass defies the kind of “silver bullet” solution sought by his critics. The critics increasingly include Democrats. White House officials are said to have reacted with irritation when Hillary Clinton proposed a Syria no-fly zone earlier this month, lending credibility to an idea mainly backed by Republicans. Kerry has also pushed for a no-fly zone in northern Syria along Turkey's border, which could provide a humanitarian haven for refugees — but would also create a de facto challenge to Russia's freedom in the skies. This is not the first time Obama has dug in against national security officials urging bolder action, both in Syria and against Putin’s Russia. In late 2012, Clinton, then secretary of state, joined CIA Director David Petraeus and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in presenting Obama with a plan to arm and train a moderate Syrian rebel force. Obama vetoed the idea. (He did approve a modest covert CIA training program in 2013 after the Syrian regime used chemical weapons, and last year he approved the $500 million Pentagon training program that is being downsized after a sputtering start.) The pattern repeated earlier this year, when a consensus emerged among Obama’s top national security advisers, including Kerry and then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, that the U.S. should supply lethal military aid to Ukraine, including shoulder-fired Javelin anti-tank missiles. During his February confirmation hearing, Carter said that he, too, was “very much inclined” to provide heavier weapons to Ukraine. Again, Obama knocked down the idea, worrying that Putin would simply further escalate in response. Some officials argued that Obama should keep the possibility of supplying of lethal weapons as a card to play against Putin in the event the Russian took newly provocative steps — which he now has in Syria. But there are no signs Obama is seriously reconsidering the idea. 151002_barack_obama_presser_2_ap_1160.jpg White House Obama’s trash talk By Edward-Isaac Dovere In a sign of the complexities the Obama team faces, few officials can be easily placed in a neat hawk or dove box. Kerry, for instance, has long favored a no-fly zone in Syria. But he frustrates the administration's Russia hawks, who prefer to isolate Putin, with his reliable belief in the benefits of continued dialogue with Moscow. That reflects a view that pragmatic engagement with Moscow is the best way to accomplish U.S. aims. That theory may have received a little-noticed boost earlier this month. While critics point out that Putin began airstrikes two days after his sit-down with Obama at the United Nations, there was unexpected good news from Ukraine soon after, when Russian-backed rebels agreed to postpone disputed elections that threatened a fragile truce. The elections had been a key discussion point between Obama and Putin in New York. Even so, the Russia hawks believe that Putin and Kerry's Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, generally string along and mislead the U.S. On the flip side, many Pentagon officials want the U.S. to more actively counter Russian ambitions in Europe — while doubting the efficacy of proposals to take more action in Syria. Martin Dempsey, the recently retired chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, argued that the U.S. should consider sending lethal aid to Kiev. But Dempsey was a vociferous opponent of a Syria no-fly zone, which he called risky and said could cost $1 billion per month at a time of Pentagon budget cuts. A new paper published by the Army War College concludes that the Russian intervention in Syria “is not necessarily a major setback for U.S. policy.” “I feel that we have a much more deeply held concern about what is going on in Ukraine than we do about pulling a rabbit out of a hat in Syria,” said the paper's author, W. Andrew Terrill, a professor at the War College’s Strategic Studies Institute and a retired Army lieutenant colonel. “The Lebanese civil war lasted 14 years and was very difficult to stop.” Other military officials believe the U.S. can stand up to Putin without getting entangled in Syria by contesting Russian aggression in other theaters, from the Arctic to Eastern Europe and the Baltics, where Russia has stepped up provocative overflights challenging foreign airspace. In a speech last week at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, NATO’s top naval commander proposed a stronger U.S. response to the recent deployment of six Russian Kilo-class attack submarines to the Black Sea. The commander, U.S. Navy Adm. Mark Ferguson, called for a more active allied response, including identifying new bases where the U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft could operate, saying that “you do not get better sitting in port doing synthetic exercises.” It's unclear whether Obama is entertaining that idea. But even officials who grumble that Rice and McDonough discourage dissenting views — sometimes by invoking exaggerated, straw-man versions of recommendations — concede that there is plenty of discussion in national security meetings at the White House. Just little action. As one of the former officials put it: “This is driven by one man, and one man only, and it is Barack Obama.” Bryan Bender contributed to this report. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Authors: Michael Crowley mcrowley@politico.com This story tagged under: * Syria * Russia * Barack Obama * Foreign Policy * Cold War * Vladimir Putin * Bashar Al-Assad Show Comments * Most Read * Videos [gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==] 1. Whatever happened to Michelle Obama's State of the Union guests? 2. The Nation He Built 3. Everything you need to know about the 2016 State of the Union address 4. Kim Davis' review of Obama: 'It was a speech' 5. The States of Our Union … Are Not All Strong 6. Politico’s Best Photos of 2015 7. 9 moments from Obama's State of the Union addresses that made you wish you were there 8. Sanders bests Clinton in new early state polls 9. Haley swipes at Trump in State of the Union response 10. 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