A hawkish Kerry emerges as point man in Obama's push to punish Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks about the situation in Syria at the State Department in Washington, August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Senate takes up whether to back White House plans to attack Syria, there may be few more effective or passionate lobbyists for the administration than Secretary of State John Kerry, who was a member of that exclusive club for 28 years.

In two appearances that many interpreted as foreshadowing an imminent strike, Kerry last week described Syria's use of chemical weapons as "a moral obscenity" and called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a thug and a murderer.