Despite recent developments, President Obama will still speak tonight regarding Syria./via Wikimedia Commons

President Barack Obama will still address the nation Tuesday night, despite the debate of Syria taking an unexpected turn in the past 24 hours, making the speech still worth watching due to the impact of the Syrian conflict on his legacy as president.

Although Syria has agreed to Russia's proposal to hand over its chemical weapon stores to Russian and U.N. inspectors, the president still needs to rally Congressional support to use force should Syria not meet the required deadlines. 

The outcome of his efforts tonight will go a long way in determining the rest of Obama's time in the White House and how he will remembered in the future.

Many feel that if Obama fails to gain Congressional support, his political power in Washington will reach a dismal and perhaps insurmountable low. Obama has spent considerable time attempting to sway members of his own party to take action in Syria, and if many Democrats vote against him, he will surrender significant power as he looks to push other policies through Congress. 

Many believe that losing this battle would make Obama a lame duck president with another three years left in his presidency, which doesn’t exactly mix well with the “Yes We Can” motto he leaned on to get into office in the first place. 

While Obama has said the strike on Syria doesn’t necessarily have to be immediate, a vote on the topic must happen now.

That’s because Congress is back from its summer recess and has many other pressing issues, such as the extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown by September 30. If the vote fails, or ends up getting kicked between the House and Senate, it can spell bad news for action in Syria.

The result of this speech has a major impact on how countries will see the U.S. in regards to what they can and can’t get away with. Specifically, Secretary of State John Kerry says not taking action against Syria will open the door for North Korea and Iran to be more aggressive toward the U.S. and invite terrorist groups to use illegal weapons with less apprehension. 

Tonight offers the American public a rare opportunity to see a potentially vulnerable president make an aggressive and ultimately career-defining political move.

In other words, it’s going to make for great television.

Reach staff reporter Charlie Magovern here.