Syria debate in US Congress could break a president

This week, and the one that follows, could be the days that break a president.

If Barack Obama escapes humiliation that will be enough - there is no sense that even victory in Congress will leave him in an enviable position.

The next few days will see Mr Obama stripped, all the flaws of his presidency on display, all the strengths of his personality strained to their limit.

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Listen to President Obama in St Petersburg and it is not always clear that he has persuaded himself”

His dazzling way with words, his skill as an orator, is beyond doubt. They will be deployed to the full, in the six big TV interviews he has planned, in the address to the nation on Tuesday night.

But recently his words have lost a little of their ability to glamour the listener. The magic has faded with repetition. In some, familiarity has bred contempt.

Even worse for him, the words that are the most important are the hardest. They are the ones he speaks in private, on the phone or in person, to the politicians who hold his fate in their hands. And he's been notoriously bad in persuading Congress of anything.

He ignored the groundwork for years. This a city where, far more than in British parliament, the political is personal.

Just about every senator, every representative has a keen sense of their own importance. Any one would find attention from the president flattering. To those who deal in power, it is currency.

Buttering up an ego today can grease a deal tomorrow. But Mr Obama doesn't like glad-handing, back-slapping and inquiring after sick spouses. He hasn't built up the relations that would allow him to cajole and threaten.

But it is worse than that. Most of us are best at persuading others when we feel passionate about a cause. Listen to President Obama in St Petersburg and it is not always clear that he has persuaded himself.