2016 Election Politics on Display in Syria Debate

It's never too early for some political positioning

Washington (CNN) -- The closer Congress gets to voting on whether to back President Barack Obama's call for a military attack on Syria, the more election politics influences the debate.

Splits exist on both the left and right, revealing the political calculations of Washington regarding next year's congressional elections and the 2016 presidential vote.

While the 2014 contests faced by every House member and a third of the Senate are more proximate, the machinations at work in debating and acting on the Syria issue also are heavily focused on the balloting three years from now to choose Obama's successor.