On the world stage, the crisis in Syria raised questions about Obama’s firmness and the United States’ capacity for leadership.

Obama had initially said that the use of chemical weapons by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad would amount to the unacceptable crossing of a red line. But, when video evidence emerged of a chemical attack in a Damascus suburb in August, the United States seemed to dither in its response.

Initial indications that Obama might order a quick attack on Assad’s forces gave way to an abrupt decision to seek Congressional approval. With that vote looking doomed to failure, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the lead role with a plan to disarm Assad of chemical weapons.

The one redeeming factor from the White House’s perspective was that the Putin plan had its genesis in an off-hand remark from Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Thank God for John Kerry, the accidental diplomat, because it would’ve been a lose-lose situation for Obama,” the former official said. “He would’ve lost if he’d asked for authorization from Congress and that would have been an embarrassment.”