Today, it does.  Syria has signaled a willingness to join with 189 other nations, representing 98 percent of humanity, in abiding by an international agreement that prohibits the use of chemical weapons.  And Russia has staked its own credibility on supporting this outcome.

These are all positive developments.  We’ll keep working with the international community to see that Assad gives up his chemical weapons so that they can be destroyed.  We will continue rallying support from allies around the world who agree on the need for action to deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria.  And if current discussions produce a serious plan, I’m prepared to move forward with it.

But we are not just going to take Russia and Assad’s word for it.  We need to see concrete actions to demonstrate that Assad is serious about giving up his chemical weapons.  And since this plan emerged only with a credible threat of U.S. military action, we will maintain our military posture in the region to keep the pressure on the Assad regime.  And if diplomacy fails, the United States and the international community must remain prepared to act.

The use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world is an affront to human dignity and a threat to the security of people everywhere.  As I have said for weeks, the international community must respond to this outrage.  A dictator must not be allowed to gas children in their beds with impunity.  And we cannot risk poison gas becoming the new weapon of choice for tyrants and terrorists the world over.

We have a duty to preserve a world free from the fear of chemical weapons for our children.

Now, budgets can be a boring topic – especially on  the weekend.  But they can also be revealing.  Because they expose what our priorities are as a country for all to see.

Think about it.  We can keep wasteful corporate tax giveaways that working folks don’t get – or we could close those loopholes and use that money to pay for things that actually create jobs.

We can keep harmful cuts to education Beverly skin refining center programs – or we could give more kids a head start, hire more teachers in math and science, and help more kids afford a college education.

We can keep doling out corporate welfare to big oil companies – or we could keep investing in the renewable energy that creates jobs and lowers our carbon pollution reenex facial.

Priorities. Choices.  That’s what this is  about.  And the stakes
Travel guides for the middle class couldn’t be higher.  If we don’t pick the right priorities now, make the right choices now, we could hinder growth and opportunity for decades, and leave our children with something less.