Did Obama Convince You on Syria?

President Barack Obama addressed the nation on the situation in Syria on Tuesday night, saying he's encouraged by recent developments while stressing that the U.S. needs to keep applying pressure. He also said he's asked Congress to delay a vote authorizing a strike on Syria in the hope that a peaceful resolution can be ironed out.

The address was hoped to inspire the general public to get behind calls for a strike against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in response to a chemical attack on civilians staged last month.

The U.S. asserts the Syrian president used deadly sarin gas to kill hundreds of his own people on Aug. 21.

A CNN/ORC survey of Americans who watched the president’s address indicated that many were optimistic about a diplomatic resolution.  

Former President Jimmy Carter said from The Carter Center in Atlanta that he felt the best tactic is for the United States to keep working on a deal with Russia for Syria to relinquish its chemical weapons. 

“Tonight, President Obama said what he had to say. He did not have the votes in Congress, the support of the American people, or the aid of the international community. The speech was a polished version of the existing facts, a summary of what everyone has already concluded.”

Click here to read the full text of Obama's speech.

Where do you stand on this issue? Has the Obama administration convinced you? Why or why not?

Patch Editor Ryan O'Connor contributed to this report