now, in the senate 27 are against it or leaning no. 23 are in favor, with 50 undecided. we have team coverage with nbc's tracie potts in washington and nbc's jim maceda in turkey. we begin with tracie. lawmakers facing a momentous vote there in washington. what do you know about that. >> reporter: that process starts this afternoon, betty, good morning, everyone. that's why the obama administration's making the hard sell. lawmakers have got to figure out where is the u.s. more vulnerable here. getting involved in the civil war and maybe encouraging iran or al qaeda or making a promise for action and then doing nothing. with protests across the country, president obama is pushing for it at a dinner with republicans last night. and in a nationwide television appearance tomorrow. especially in the house where lawmakers seem reluctant to antagonize bashar al assad. >> i think there's a chance that he is more emboldened if we do attack him. >> reporter: the white house is using these videos not confirmed by nbc as proof the assad regime used chemical weapons. >> nobody is reb

i'm undecided on that. i think to a person just about everyone has to praise the president for his courage to bring it to congress and letting us have our voice and letting us have the debate and understanding that the constitution -- being that it's constitutional to get it done this week, but, you know, to say that the president has lost leadership, et cetera, well, i disagree. i think a large portion of america, democrats and republicans for that matter, are looking through it through the prism of iraq and the bungled situation of a former president and then to try to turn it around and put it all on this president, you know, i get upset at times when you have a move of conscience. when's the right thing to do as a vote of conscience and not play politics in it. >> you support the president. you will vote yes for a military strike? >> no, no, no. i said i'm undecided on this. yes, i support the president in general, on the whole. but what i do as i've done when bill clinton was the president and we had t

why are so many voters telling us that they are undecided?have the candidates and parties failed to inspire? >> i suppose it could be that and -- that in part, but it is a remarkable number, 30% still undecided. it's not unusual in germany. a lot of people tend to leave it to the last minute to make up their mind how they are going to vote if they go to the polling stations at all. voter turnout in general elections has been all in for decades in germany. -- falling for decades in germany. one thing to say is that the conservatives, many of their natural supporters feel they have moved away from their core positions, and they do not feel represented i those big parties anymore. another thing is, of course, economies often decide elections and get people to motivated to vote the economy. germany is doing quite well. unemployment is low, so many germans do not feel that their personal situation angers them or makes them want to change the government. >> the world is watching germany this weekend with many expecting to see chancellor merkel retu

we have 49 undecided senators. that's the biggest bloc. 26 no votes on the record, 25 yes votes on the record. if you look down low, you see blue and red, that's 26 democrats undecided, 21 republicans, 18 democrats yes, 7 republicans yes. that's the senate vote right there. if they need 60 to avoid a filibuster, that's one big number. if they do that, obviously it would take 51 to pass. the president just about at the halfway point, nowhere near enough. and the senate side, that's the senate side where they are reasonably optimistic. here's the president's biggest problem. the house of representatives. 255 members currently say they are undecided but already on record, 153 nos, including 121 republicans and 32 democrats. only 25 yes votes on the record in the house right now. that's trouble for the president. 17 democrats and 8 republicans. let's take a closer look at some of the analysis. look at several different groups here. in the senate right now, there are 42 members who are around for the iraq war vote back

a lot of members are undecided. >> doing know how the undecideds might vote. we have the debates on the senate floor and the house for some time next week. harold wilson once said a week is a long time in politics. >> syrians are looking for ways to oppose such actions as well. in a campaign called "over our dead bodies." organizers hope it will send a message to the west and spare damascus for more blood -- from more bloodshed. >> many things change in the city as immigrants returned to their home. syrians have come up with ways to avoid american intervention, one of these attempts is the over our dead bodies campaign. vital civilian establishments, to protect them. >> we are here to send them a message from the countries, to say that we refuse any attack on our country and willing to offer our lives in defense of it. we hope that nothing will happen. >> participants gather in damascus as they are taken to their destination. security measures should be inspected before coming on board. they arrived to cap. they will keep arriving late at night. >> it is aimed

there are a lot of undecideds. if you're looking at momentum broadly, the momentum is way on the side of tnos. >> susan, you've seen a lot of these. what strikes me here is the idea that there's this sense from the white house it can all be figured out by a public address. that oval office address. it's just a matter of the president being able to sell this more effectively. he needs to have that one-on-one with the american people. is that an effective political strategy at this point? >> i don't think the white house thinks that's going to be sufficient but they think it's necessary. you've got to get the american public to understand this more, understand the reasoning more and be more supportive if you're going have any hope of getting congress to go along. you saw that town hall meeting that john mccain was at. he got all kinds of blow back from the idea of another u.s. military action there. so i'm not sure the white house thinks the oval office address will turn the tide. but they're certainly not going to t

your -- you are undecided? caller: i think all obama has to assad were to render all his chemical weapons to russia and we pledge only humanitarian aid, if they don't agree to that then we will tell mr. putin that -- host: to give a sense of how supporters are dealing with will -- with military intervention in their own district, take a look eric cantor, who does oppose -- support military force, he writes -- meanwhile, this is from tim, an e-mail from chicago -- adam is joining us next from anchorage, alaska, a supporter of a let -- a supporter of military intervention. caller: they deserve the u.s. help. they have been under this man man and hisder this father for over 50 years. they need a change. the u.s. is supposed to do that. otherwise [indiscernible] they will ask the why don't you help us -- ask why you don't you help us? -- why don't you help us? there's this comment from our twitter page -- the next call is joe joining us , undecided about what to do. why is that? caller: this is steve from new mexic

there are 72 senators who say they are undecided or their position is unknown. in the house, 218 votes are needed. right now only 16 members have come out in favor of a strike, 47 say they are totally against it, almost 200 are undecided. as for the rest, we simply don't know where they stand on striking syria but we're going to continue to monitor the head count on a day by day basis. we have our own chief congressional correspondent dana bash standing by inside the capital and brianna keeler is outside the white house. dana, one of the biggest policy decisions of his presidency, certainly his legacy on the line, a lot of national security interest in the middle east on the line. he's gambling on a congress as you well know that often struggles to agree on anything and is bitterly not only divided but so many members, especially republicans, seem so totally opposed to almost anything the president comes up with. >> that is right. that is why it is so significant that the house speaker, john boehner, came out and said he supports the president's decision to use

this is the big group. 28 democrats among the undecided. a lot of those democrats don't want to take this vote. they might feel loyalty to vote yes for the president, but a lot of them think that might hurt back home. that's the senate. the president's reasonably confident it could get to 51. look at this in the house. 158 on the record nos. that's up ten just today. 25 yes. you have 242 undecided. 146 of those democrats. 96 republicans. this would be the key group if it gets there. but you can do the math. the president needs to get moist of these votes necessary to pass. two quick looks at who we're talking about here. first, let's look at the congressional black kau cass. only 6 on the record saying no. this group for the president staying undecided. many of them would prefer not to take this vote. the other end of the spectrum, relatively new house republicans affiliated with the tea party. 33 already saying no. 18 undecided. so indefinite delay. at the moment, the senate within reach, the house still a very, very steep uncertain climb

now that tammy baldwin decided. 48 undecided. doesn't know what to do. >> it may decide to what the president is asking of the congress. we don't know. >> there will be a vote. >> if there will be a vote. >> when there will be a vote or if there will be a vote. and the longer it goates, the me the public, how he can sway the public becomes as much or more of a factor. >> perceived as permission to do war. it doesn't get through. if what he is asking for is perceived as a hammer to hold over the head of the syrian -- >> there can be an international response. >> there can be an international response. that maybe gets through. >> big difference. >> the super restraeint senator joe manchin. he will be joining us live immediately after the president's speech tonight with his reaction which will be super-interesting in terms of what happens next. hold on. there is more ahead as our special coverage continues. stay with us. [ ship horn blows ] no, no, no! stop! humans. one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next...

senators are almost evenly split into those for and against intervention with half of the chamber still undecided while the law and more populated house has more lawmakers are firmly against or leaning towards turning down the war crime and she can has the latest from washington you may find some of the images in the report distressing. the upcoming vote in congress might not be as slam dunk as many thought it would be considering the support for military action in syria that congressional leaders have previously expressed members of congress admit that they are being bombarded by calls from their constituents ninety nine percent of whom demand that they vote no to the administration's plan to bomb syria now two hundred seventeen votes are needed to pass or to fail the administration's plan all representatives who are leading know right now actually vote no president obama's

, 103, roughly, which is where you have been, in the undecided column. have you made up your mind on how to vote in syria? >> i've actually been more clear that that. i've said if it's very targeted, if it's limited and the evidence can point that on assad, i support a limited targeted strike. >> is it a single military strike? is it 30 days? 60 days? >> once you start getting beyond 60 days, i have real problems. i understand more than one strike may be necessary because we have different targets that have to be hit. what i want to see is the deterrence of the use in the future of any type of weapon of mass destruction. i don't want to be facing in the future some vote because we didn't act now and worse use was made by some other country, north korea, iran, you name it. and i believe we must act. it would be morally irresponsible, i believe, for us not to do something as a world and i think as the leader in the world we are the first to have to lead on that. >> so it sounds like you're leaning towards being a yes. >> i've told the white house that i am

almost 200 undecided and dozens and dozens more whom ere we don know where they stand. a long road ahead for the white house. so many undecided and so many unknowns. >> while the debate goes on about a possible military strike on syria, inside the country, the refugee strike is growing. a syrian becomes a refugee every 15 seconds. these numbers add up very quickly. there are now more than two million syrian refugees. that's ten times more this time last year. more than four many others have been displaced from their homes inside the country. if you want to put that in some context, here's what it would look like. it would men some 30 million americans would be refugees. that's almost the entire population of california. ben wedeman is at a refugee camp in northern jordan. >> reporter: the figure being quoted is really just part of the problem. they say there's two million registered syrian refugees but here in jordan, where there's about 520,000, officials are quoted in one newspaper saying there could be as many as 1.2 million syrian refugees in jordan. that in additio

president obama will be unleashing a media blitz to promote his syria agenda with half the undecided house to convince. >>> a diary from robert f. kennedy jr., does it reveal his sexploits over the past many years. >>> football fans rejoice as the first full sunday of the season brings plenty of highs and lows. >>> plus, even a pesky win wind couldn't blow serena from her fifth open. >>> mickey hart taps into his brain. >>> what to do with your smartphone. >>> intense diplomacy amid the international call for action in syria. secretary of state john kerry holding a press conference right now but british foreign secretary william hague, it comes on the heels on a weekend spent lobbying european and arab partners. we're looking at live pictures right now. only france has publicly called for air strikes and while kerry says saudi arabia backs them, the saudis have stopped short of saying so publicly. >>> israel has reinforced their iron dome missile defense system. the u.s. would notify israel, quote, hours before a u.s. strike. the country fears damascus could fire missiles at them in

involvement or leaning against it and about half still undecid undecided. in the senate, 34 supporting the president, or leaning in favor. 32 against and 34 remaining undecided. so, a mixed picture at best in the senate and very bad numbers for the white houand the administration in the house, richelle. >> paul, what does the white house have planned for the next few days to change numbers? >> well, the effort continues. tomorrow night, vice president biden is going to have five republican senators over the house for dinner. monday when they are back in session, susan rice is giving a big speech, a high-profile speech here in washington. and that's all the ahead of tuesday's address from the white house by the president to the nation continuing to press the case for action. >> okay. paul beban, live in washington. thank you very much. now for some context on the continuing syria debate is mark jacobson, the senior transatlantic fellow. thank you so much for your time. we always appreciate it. >> good afternoon, richelle. thanks for having me. >> the g20 sum

this is the time when those undecided and i think the undecided number is the biggest, when you can turn this is when you can also work on those that have come out negative. members of congress will have about a week in the house before there is a vote. i've seen the executive branch, clinton, bush administrations obama administrations. right now they have the tools of persuasion. and you're now on the administration's turf. the administration and president will address the country. he will be persuasive. he's making a strong international case, more countries are joining us. i think the momentum is shifting to the administration. it will happen in the next few days but it's still going to be a tough vote. >> thank you so much. i'm sure we'll talk with you more, sir, with your insight. >>> a new poll out confirms americans are overwhelmingly opposed to military action against syria. the cnn poll shows 59% of americans say congress should not approve a resolution authorizing even limited military action against syria. joining me now, syria's xm michael summer connish, you're on the day he

cho are truly torn, truly undecided.blican-led house, 217, that's the number, the magic number, needed to pass, 119 firm nos. only 24 firm yeses. 270 undecided and 20 undeclared. now, on those undecided we are pretty conservative in our count because things are so fluid but again anecdotally and talking to the members, a lot who are undecided, democrats and republicans, really are leaning no and they are just kind of waiting for more information. that momentum that seemed to be with the president when the congressional leaders came out in a bipartisan way, it seemed to have stalled big time august the week is coming to a close. >> we were talking about john boehner, eric cantor, the leadership is coming out behind the president on the republican side and they thought they would get more and it does seem to be petering out. how are they balancing what they are hearing from their constituents, because when you look at polls of the american people, they do not want this strike. >> they don't. and these members do not have t

>> i'm undecided on purpose. i have resolved to remain undecided until wee seen all the evidence. august 21st, we've been hearing a lot of persuasion. i think i've been on four or five different conference calls with top administration officials, top military leaders listening to them make the case for why striking now makes sense. i'm listening to all that. but that's persuasion and that's different from proof. so the work we have cut out for us now -- members of congress have been in their districts since august 21st and before. we've been hearing from our constituents in person, over the phone, on social media to be sure. they button hole us on the street. we get a lot from constituents and hearing what's borne out in the polls you've been talking about. now we're making our way to capitol hill. that's where the classified information is available for review. i intend to do my homework. i believe americans and certainlily my constituents are very much entitled to a completely informed decision whichever way i come out on it. tonight at 5:00 there will be a classified briefing o

with 57 senators still undecided.ou can see the details on lawmakers position on cnn.com. >>> one republican congressman from new york has held two different positions on syria in the same week. we're talking about representative michael who appeared on situation room endorsing the president's use request for force. three days later he reversed himself. here he is on the situation room. >> i would want the president's strike to be a meaningful strike. the idea that we should or shouldn't strike, i think that ship sailed a long time ago. it's extremely important to the syrian people but also matters what iran thinks. the credibility of the entire united states is on the line. we cannot allow a press of this regime to use chemical weapons. it's our credibility but it's also our future for decades of how we will be perceived by the rest of the world not only from our enemies but our allies. it's hard to backtrack without losing credibility in all parts of the world from our allies or enemies. >> yesterday congressman gri

a vast majority still undecided. the house is back in session tomorrow afternoon, fredericka, after an august break. guess what they'll be talking abou about. >> will many talk about, those on the fence? >> congressman elijah cummings from maryland said 77% of his constituents voted for president obama. 90% of the calls coming into his district right now are against striking syria. >> my constituents are concerned about the what's next. we need to know the possible consequences of the strike and if it will possibly lead to a scenario where america gets more deeply involved in the civil war in syria. >> you think about congressman cum, so far he has had three briefs on syria and still puts himself in the undecided column. >> thanks so much. emily schmidt in washington. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is very busy trying to convince the national community to take military action against syri syria. >> what we are seeking is to enforce the stad with respect to the use of chemical weapons. we are not seeking to become

the that show undecideds. a lot of those members, particularly in the house are at this point leaning no. and in the senate, which is where this is going to be taken up first, it's really unclear. it's very much up in the air where things stand. they do not know if they have the votes now. and we have been hearing throughout the day more people if they're coming out coming out and saying no. i just have to tell you the reason has been fascinating. we talked about this many times last week. it is not because these members don't believe that bashar al assad was behind the chemical attacks and it's not because they don't believe it is morally important for the u.s. to stand up. it is, as seminar lamar alexander, the latest republican to come out and said no said in his statement, it's because he is concerned about the uncertainty what happens after the mirt attack. he says i know what plan a is, but what about b, c, and d and that really is the key thing that will lawmakers across the board, across the capital, a

involvement or leaning against it, and about half still undecided. and the senate looking a little more favorable for the administration. 34 supporting or leaning in favor. 32 against, and 34, again, undecided. the numbers are a little bit better in the senate but still a lot of work to do in the administration. >> the white house revealed any strategy of what to do, or how it's going to win over those lawmakers. >> reporter: it's really a full court media press starting with that weekly address. tomorrow vice president biden is inviting five lawmakers over to his house for dinner and then there will be interviews that will be aired on monday. national security adviser susan rice will be giving a speech all in a lead up to the address of the from the white house on tuesday. >> thank you. to talk about this more from washington we have brad lakeman, a senior staff member in george w. bush's administration, and now professor of international affairs at georgetown university. professor, thank you for being here. we appreciate it. >> pleasure. >> what ki

congressman, are you still undecided in. >> i am still undecided. >> what's giving you pause, congressmanhe rest of the world is. i don't think that the united states should act unilaterally and i hear the administration saying we have some with us. i want to see who's with us, and whether it is not just in condemning the acts but with us in committing military forces to go and show that we're not going to allow as an international community the utilization of chemical weapons. >> sir, unless something changes, we will be pulling a lone ranger here, i don't see any tonto following up. if that doesn't change, where do you stand? >> well, as i said, i can't see us doing this unilaterally, need to do it multilaterally. at the hearing, secretary kerry indicated there were countries that were coming on board and that he would provide that information to us. he also indicated -- >> he said countries were coming on board? did he tell you which countries? >> some of which he said we need to talk about in a classified setting, which i will go into a classified setting and see who they are and what

right now the vote is 69 no, 26 yes, 75 unknown, 263 undecided.so the vast majority is undecided and those minds could change. in the senate, democraticly controlled, 24, 10, and 70 undecided. and they are have called on their members to support the president on this authorization for military action. there was a sense of military action turning the president's way, but we have a long way to go before we know for sure. >> i know you were watching along with me just moments ago, but he effectively brought congress into a shame game saying this is not my red line, it is the world's red line, and congress's red line because they signed the deal that said under this issue, chemical weapons are wrong and actionable. >> congress did say chemical weapons are wrong, but they didn't commit themselves to military action if they were used. . they have been trying to internationalize their case. one saying the world will be watching. not just syria, iran, hezbollah. and if the u.s. does not act, those countries will be em bolden to use these weapons or to att

>> craig, i am undecided and i am undecided by choice. i don't intend to make a decision until next wreak when the final classified briefing takes place at 5:00 p.m. on monday. i'll tell you why. you know, we just heard chuck todd talking about war weariness in the united states. a terrific representative from maryland, chris van hollen occurred to it as the overhang of iraq. i say to you, i think it's more than those things. it's anger. people are angry in this country, because we didn't just go to war. we didn't just suffer casualties. we didn't just see kids coming home with missing limbs and post traumatic stress order. we went through all of that because we were lied to. we were drawn into iraq because of an administration that lied to us. >> congressman, to those who would say that syria is different from iraq, and syria is different from afghanistan, your response to that would be what? >> i am going to hear out the administration. i'm coming to you live from pittston, pennsylvania. this is the home of t.j. who in may of 2007 was a

involvement or leaning against it, and about half of them still undecided. in the senate a little bit better for the white house, 34 supporting or leaning in favor. 32 opposing or leaning against, and 34 still undecided up in the air. possible they would go one way or another. a lot of that will depend on what they'll be able to do in the day ahead. >> those are really stark numbers particularly looking at the house. so what is the white house planning to do about this? >> right, not so great in the senate where they have the majority. tomorrow night vice president biden will have five republican senators over for dinner. we know while the president was traveling he called five senators from both sides of the aisles. susan rice is giving a speech here in washington all ahead of tuesday's address from the white house. full court press here from the administration. >> paul, thank you so much. stay with anger for the latest on this story. we'll have live coverage of president obama's address to the american people tuesday night primetime. >>> australia's prime

on the house side, a lot more "no" votes and almost 100 still undecided. back to you, richard. >> tracie potts live for us there in washington with the latest. thank you so much. >>> a key figure behind the scenes, national security adviser susan rice. key figure susan rice at the moment saying that the administration has no expectation of losing the vote in congress. rice speaking with nbc news's brian williams in an exclusive interview. take a listen. >> do you draw that bright an distinction between a death of incendiary bomb by a school, machine gun fires, and chemical weapons, which seems to be the bright line on this? >> chemical weapons, which can kill with indiscriminate abandonment, people who are innocent are employed in conflict, it is of a greater magnitude, because if terrorists get ahold of those weapons, they can be used on a massive scale. >> president vladimir putin also speaking out on the subject of syria, saying he will consider military action. he's one of bashar al assad's greatest allies. jim live in turkey, good morning to you. what

this is a relevant component here. 86 against, 92 leaning no, 103 undecided, 19 support here. this is still also even if the president decides to take action without congress backing him, this is a relevant part of the equation, we know that. >> very much that. and i think it's indicative of just how long a slog he has ahead of him, though john's poll from his members speaks to the sort of broader feelings of the american public. they're incredibly war weary. a poll that pew ran show that 30% of the public supported any action in syria. that's what we're seeing in congress. they're going back to their group. they have a lot of public support. >> you speak to this. you've been in war. >> the administration says they're clearly on their side. why do we not see that call for action. the president says it's not his red line, it's the red line established by the world, john. >> it's complicated because bashir assad has a lot of strategic support. he has a russian naval base so he's protected at the u.n. really what you have in iraq was you had shiia elements. you don't need the exa

with so many lawmakers undecided on a syria strike.m one store or one online shop. we think it's coming from a variety of sources. >> as pot smokers rejoice in colorado over legalized marijuana, health officials are warning of a new synthetic form of a drug. it sickened so many people that it's being treated as a public health outbreak. >>> i can't erase what i've done. but you can still be saved. your victims can still be saved. >> a jaw dropping confession to a crime he may have gotten away with. why this man admits he killed someone and used the internet to tell the world. >> morning, everyone. i'm suzanne malveaux. >> i'm victor blackwell. 7:00 here on the east coast, this is "new day saturday." >> to go to syria, the house is facing a hard choice, go along with president obama's choice to attack syria or go against him as the entire world watches. >> the brutal debate will go on for the next week or two. the president has to change minds and he'll need to. >> tally shows 25 confirmed votes in the senate. 19 no votes. we count 24 y

lawmaker who says he's still undecided. >>> also, the big business of college football.but athletes are not seeing a penny of that. what paying college athletes could look like. >>> and game on. we're just an hour or so away from learning which city will host the 2020 summer olympics. which three cities are in suspense right now? all those stories straight ahead. >>> but we start with debate over whether to take military action in syria. secretary of state john kerry is in europe today in a bid to build support from european union leaders, speaking in paris a short time ago, he said the united states is not looking to go to war but to launch military strikes. >> what we are talking about is standing together and speaking with one voice in opposition to a clear violation of a red line the world has defended for nearly 100 years. >> msnbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is traveling with secretary of state kerry and has the latest now from paris. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry and his french counterpart both argued that they are gaining

super amount of undecideds out there. a lot of people i think are hedging by saying one thing publicly and ultimately voting another way. i think my big question is whether this will pass or fail is irrelevant today. it's how much politicsing is going on, how much -- politicking is going on, how much opportunism is going on? how many people are asking questions to make themselves look good or the president look bad, perhaps the opposite way around? instead of the hard work of getting to the bottom of a world crisis? >> there's always some of that. what i'm more concerned about is people -- members of congress who are just going to respond to the volume of emails or phone calls they get. and they're probably running 10-20, 30-1 against running against involvement or attacking syria. that's not reflective -- from my past experience, whether bosnia or kosovo, the people who are against are always the one who deluge you with calls and emails. so obviously you have to factor that in. bottom line is you have to look at the cons

as i pointed out, you were undecided before. something you could support? >> well, i'm only going to support obviously -- i'll get to a point when i have a vote. i'm undecided not because the evidence isn't in lock step. the evidence is there, i've seen it with my own two eyes and heard it during the briefings we've had, but this is a very difficult decision to send our troops even if they are in the air over to another sovereign nation. we know that assad is at the bottom of all of this. if he's trying to take a step back and trying to give us a few more seconds of air time and to relax the situation, that's good. that doesn't mean he's removed as leader of the country of syria. but i just met with george saver, the president of the syrian liberation movement. everything but al qaeda, thank god but he is in washington to get support. on one hand we're trying to reconcile in a peaceful way. on the other hand we realize that most of these rebels are fighting for a great cause. most of these rebels are well intentioned. i've talke

more than half are undecided. the survey said that nearly a third of lawmakers in the house of representatives oppose a strike. about two-thirds are either undecided or haven't announced their position. >>> hundreds of demonstrators in washington ever washington have weighed in on the debate. they gathered in front of the white house to protest military action against syria. the protesters carried signs and banners expressing opposition to war. they called on congress to reject a military strike. >> i'm not here to say that i have a solution. i am here to say that going in militarily is not a good solution. >> we are going in this war for humanitarian effort, but it will actually kill more people and how will a missile strike benefit the innocent civilians. >> public opposition to the use of force is another hurdle obama must face in trying to get a green light from congress. >>> the last remaining slot on the list of 28 sports to be played in the 2020 olympic games has been chosen in buenos aires. the internation

you said you're still undecided, correct? >> absolutely.to make this decision as to whether to give authorization to the president to strike. >> what more do you need to hear? >> well, we're working our way through several things, at least i am. it is clear to me that the assad regime is responsible for launching chemical weapons against its own people in the suburbs of damascus. we know it's a violation of international law. chemical weapons have only been used twice in the last 100 years, once by iraq in 1980 and now by the assad regime. >> now, there are those who said assad regime has used the chemical weapons at least a dozen times. >> absolutely. state actors deployed against their people. this is one collective set of instances. but we know that there should be consequences, or at least i've come to that conclusion. but what we have to figure out is the appropriate step right now, is it a military strike. and will that lead to consequences that include further escalation and possible engagement in a conflict, in the middle east, and

that bottom line you just showed majority in both houses remain undecided.he president's hope when lawmakers come back to washington next week and get classified briefings, when you can lobby them one-on-one, face to face and try to present information. can the president turn it around? yes. is the hill getting steeper as more lawmakers come out and say no, just yesterday a conservative democrat from west virginia, senator joe manchin, those are the votes the president needs so starting to see people come out -- you say, hmm, if you think of other like-minded people in the congress the dynamic is against the president. what can he do? it'll take one-on-one lobbying and classification of briefings overwhelming people but it's not looking good for the president. >> one big factor is public opinion. i mean if you need further evidence of that, you don't need to look at the polls. just look at the town halls that some people have been having. john mccain getting an earful at a town hall he held in arizona. what are really lawmakers hearing? i one you hear at tha

a lot of them are undecided. half the senate is undecided. most of them are democrats.o the president on capitol hill is saying, look, i got putin right where i want him. he's got a deal on the table. the syrians have signed on today. we're going to make some movement here. how can you not give me a yes vote? so i will have some international diplomatic gravitas here? you've got to give me this deal, you've got to give me this vote. it going to be interesting tonight to see just how hard the president sells on this. so imagine you're a congressional member, and you're getting phone calls to the tune of 100-1 against military action, and the president comes to capitol hill and says, "i need your vote because i need international credibility to get this done, so we can show them that we're definitely going to hit them." okay? got all that? and then as a congressional member you have to go home and you have to say, well, i was really against a strike in syria, i really didn't want to do that, but i had to give the president, you know, some backing, because he came so far d

as it stands, republicans are undecided which issue to tackle first.'s bring back our political insiders. doug, what's your take on this? this could be really bad for the gop. >> that's what the president is counting on. he made it clear this morning with george stefanopolous. bottom line, his numbers are going down, but as weak as he is, the republican rating is actually lower than the democrats'. so the president is going to stand firm, no negotiations, and hope the republicans allow the government to shut down. the republicans will be blamed, and it is the only possibility i see in the numbers for the democrats to win the house. >> you know, pat, the republicans could easily pull a newt gingrich and self-destruct. >> yes. and by the way, they seem to have a propensity of that for the moment. we have not had this in politics for a long time, just letting it be wasted away by the republicans. if they had a confrontation on obamacare, for instance, if they did what we said on the show, which is delay the original mandate, if they confronted the preside

she is undecided whether the u.s. should militarily intervene in syria. congresswoman did anything tonight that you heard from the president, both in laying out the case and laying out the case to push off a vote, so that diplomacy can have some time to work. did any of it push you in one direction or the other? >> chris, let me start and say i am the mother of a marine war veteran. served both in iraq and afghanistan. i come to this process -- probably like most americans. i am against war. and the last thing i want to do is send anybody's dad or son into a war. the president has come to congress, a man i respect very much. to ask for military action in syria. despite my bias. i want to take the time to be deliberate. what the president, gave a 15-minute speech. i have spent the last ten days or so. talking to world leaders, i was on a trip, to the mideast when, when, he started this conversation with congress. myself and colleagues we have read classified briefings. we have had many, many discussions today. i spent a couple of hours, colleagues with the

they should take military action in syria. 331 members would vote against the strike. 44 remain undecide and 25 say they would support military action. this in the house 241 say they would vote against the strike or leaning toward voting against it. 166 are undecide and 26 say they would support military action. >>> we have more in capitol hill. >> reporter: over in the house of representative sendives it's a moment to wait and see. there are two po ten eurpbl game changeers on the table and house members say they want to see how these turn out before they commit to a vote. one is president obama's speech on tuesday night. his address to oh the nation sa moment, members say, for him to make his case and try to convince american people that military action is needed in syria. the second oh potential game changer, rush trurb putting on the table the option that syria would put its chemical weapons under international scrutiny. this can get everyone out of a touch situation in a vote over this. that might be enough for the u.s. to pull back on its military threat. congressman adam smith, de

a lot of lawmakers still undecided. what do they need to hear? what are they hearing from c constituen constituen constituents? >> reporter: what they are hearing is overwhelming opposition. these are democrats. these are republicans. even diane fienstein saying she's also getting calls. she's saying they don't know what i know. she is somebody that has a lot of insight. when you're talk about the broader congress, what they have been doing every single day, including today going in as much as they can, getting classified briefings and getting information about whether or not assad used chemical weapons, but more importantly it's trying to get a better handle on what the military action would be and what the con ttingencies would . they really are going in expecting to hear some specifics and not really getting them. again, the key, key concern among so many lawmakers are is inability for anybody to really know ha kind of pandora's box this could open if the u.s. does strike. >> one question here the president was asked is whether or not he could

as it stands, republicans are undecided which issue to tackle first.'s bring back our political insiders. doug, what's your take on this? this could be really bad for the gop. >> that's what the president is counting on. he made it clear this morning with george stefanopolous. bottom line, his numbers are going down, but as weak as he is, the republican rating is actually lower than the democrats'. so the president is going to stand firm, no negotiations, and hope the republicans allow the government to shut down. the republicans will be blamed, and it is the only possibility i see in the numbers for the democrats to win the house. >> you know, pat, the republicans could easily pull a newt gingrich and self-destruct. >> yes. and by the way, they seem to have a propensity of that for the moment. we have not had this in politics for a long time, just letting it be wasted away by the republicans. if they had a confrontation on obamacare, for instance, if they did what we said on the show, which is delay the original mandate, if they confronted the preside

another 10 are leaning no and a majority are still undecided. you talk to senior congressional aides, read the tea leaves when it comes to the house democrats especially and here's a belief that when many leaning no lawmakers return on monday and begin reading the materials it might make some remain skeptical or undecided through the remainder of the week. there are those that say what's the riske to the united states and that is the argument the president will have to answer in the coming days. gwen: it seems that republicans like john boehner, who was in support right off of the president and their base are the ones abandoning them on the far left and far right. >> one problem you have with boehner and eric cantor, who also came out northwesterly support is this is a conference that does not necessarily follow in line of our leadership. the idea that the speaker and majority would get behind something doesn't necessarily translate into votes. on the opposite end you have nancy pelosi which is a certain amount of irony, being an dvocate for the

with 58 senators still undecided. you can see how your lawmaker plans to vote on a strike against syria. it's easy. just go to cnn.com/politics and click on counting votes. you can click through the interactive tally by state, name and comments. the running tally is based on public statements, press releases and, of course, interviews with lawmakers. >>> one lawmaker who opposes syria action after hearing from secretary of state kerry and others is congressman matt salmon of arizona. he joins me now from capitol hill. welcome back, congressman. >> thank you. great to be on the program, again. >> thanks so much for being with us. you listed several reasons for your opposition, including the lack of partners in the effort. here's an exchange you had with secretary kerry yesterday. >> why are we looking at a near go it alone military mission? you said in your testimony that there are 34 countries who are with us. what degree are they with us and who are they specifically? >> i don't have the full list of them here. but t

that means undecided. you have six more house members now saying no to a strike.hat brings the total you see to 115. on the flip side, in the senate, democratic senator has joined the no side. the total there is 19. you know, i know some of this changes after classified briefings. ben, what about, you know, you think about american voters put these guys and gals in office. do you think this is a sign of they're listening to and responding to constituents or is this weakness, this back and forth? >> i think they're listening. i think a lot of these people are going to be up for re-election very soon. and they're sitting there thinking, do i really want to have all of these people call me and then i just -- my best response is, well, i'm smarter than you are because i've been in briefings. even though the president specifically went to congress to get their approval, which is listening to the american people. it's a really hard defense. whether you're republican or you're democrat. the other issue that's come up today is, i've never seen so many people look into the

and 239 are undecided. and in the senate, 25 will vote yes and 29 will not and 46 are undecided.oining me on the hill, a senator who said he would be a no vote. senator harry reed pulled a vote that was supposed to be a test vote on this authorization. how do you think the results would have been in he held the vote on wednesday? >> i don't know. if you are the leader and hold the agenda and you pull the votes you generally don't have the votes but i don't know that for a fact. >> the president said he is not confident he has the votes do. you think the no votes are with the opposition? do you think this would not pass? >> you know, jake, i traveled my state for nine days and listened to every georgian that called me. never seen an issue before where more of the rank and file were more consistently in opposition. they don't worry about day once when the strike takes place. they worry about day two, three, and four. what happens if israel is hit? will there be boots on the ground? i think that uncertainty is the big problem for the administration. >> on the day that president obam

they vote against military action. 50 in the undecided column. so half of the senate there, 23 saying they will support military action. in the house, the numbers looking even less favorable for the white house. 226 saying they would vote against, 182 undecided, just 25 saying they support any further action in the syria. so clearly, del, the white house and the administration have a lot of work to do. they are going to be trying their very best tonight. vice president biden having five republican senators over for dinner. tomorrow when congress comes over, susan here in washington and the president as we have been hearing going to be interviewed on all of the major news broadcasts tomorrow evening, ahead of tuesday night's address to the nation from the white house. del? >> paul beban joining us. syria by the numbers. >>> for more on syria's war, al jazeera sat down with former congressman ron paul. here is a sneak peek of what he had to say. >> what would be your red line in syria? is there a moment where the united states has a responsibility

>> reporter: that undecided column is large, both in the house and the senate, but on the other side of the coins, the already committed to "no" side is equally big, particularly in the house. the senate is where it looks like the president has the best chance of making his case, and they are still saying they haven't even begun really in earnest to win members of congress. we will see what happens in the next couple of days but the numbers right now in those polls that you mentioned are not looking very good. >> paul beban joining us from washington. paul, thank you very much. >>> meanwhile, syria's page number bashar al-assad told cbs news he was not behind any chemical weapons attack in syria. it is his first american interview with an american television network in nearly two years. he suggested rebels would use them and there would be a retaliation for any international attack on syria. john kerry is currently in peras as trying to build -- paris and he met with arab foreign ministers. more countries are on board agreeing with a strong international response in the quote double

against it or leaning against it, 62, undecided 120. for every democrat who breaks with the white house on this, that makes one more republican the president is going to need if he's going to get his resolution through. obama still has time here. how can obama convince republicans? last four years opposing everything with his name on it, same republicans whose party base is ready to punish any member of the tribe who so much as makes eye contact with the president. how can president obama convince those republicans to suddenly side with him on this? how many democrats remain traumatized by iraq? how many are in office because of iraq? can an appeal to party loyalty, to supporting a democratic pot a crucial vote, possibly be enough to win over members of the party base that lived through iraq and vowed never again? let's talk about why congress is where it is right now and whether there's anything president obama can do to win this fight. to do that we have nbc news, capitol hill reporter and reporter casey hunt, todd washington correspo

most senators remain undecided. in the house, there are merely four votes for every member who plans to vote yes. some lawmakers expressed their support are getting an earful from their constituents. >> things got heated at senator john mccain's town hall in phoenix thursday. >> opposed to having a single american boot on the ground. >> not good enough. >> you don't respect our view. we sent you to stop the war. >> we cannot afford to shed more syrian blood. >> reporter: as mccain, who supports missile strikes in syria tried to convince a skeptical audience this is in america's interest. it shows the tough task ahead as the white house push to turn over lawmakers kick sboos high gear. in washington, the intelligence committee admitted to getting an earful from her constituents. >> there's no question. what's coming in is overwhelmingly negative. there's no question about that. then they don't know what i know. >> reporter: the white house is lobbying people on the phone and in briefings. susan rice tweeted about a w