Trump acts on impulse, a fact that is obvious to everybody, and certainly Putin, who is evil but not stupid. My theory, for what it's worth, is that the sarin attack was bait. Notwithstanding that Assad was supposed to get rid of the sarin and Putin had agreed to ensure that he did, obviously neither thing happened. So anyhow, Assad uses the stuff; of course both he and Putin know that this will stir up outrage in the US and everywhere else.

Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about Syrian children; that much is obvious from his previous refusal to allow Syrian refugees into the US. But he knows that he can use them to make him look good; moreover, he knows that if he is not seen to be doing something in response to the atrocity of using sarin, he might look bad. Trump, being a narcissist, cares only about how he is perceived. But he doesn't want to piss off his boss, Putin, who might think he was being ungrateful if he came down too hard on Putin's ally, Assad. He might worry that Putin might not re-elect him next time if he really acts against Russia's interests. So he asks the military guys like Mattis what can be done to "send a message" without causing excessive damage. Presumably those guys are smart enough to understand that just flinging missiles around isn't a good idea unless there's also an underlying longer-term strategy to deal with the blowback from said flinging, but Trump's the boss.

And Putin knows how Trump is likely to react - impulsively, concerned only with how his image in the US will be enhanced by seeming to act decisively against an evil despot. So maybe Putin gets what he wants, which the shoring-up of his puppet's increasingly faltering reputation, while deflecting attention from Trump's cozy relationship with Russia. Putin issues the usual blustery, outraged statement about US provocation, but he won't do anything. Meanwhile, Assad won't be going anywhere, and Trump has stepped in a quagmire with no idea what to do next.

Events that seem important to this is,Trump's total ass kicking over his lack of a Ceremony for killing ACA,Nunes exposed as a Rat,he slammed the Democrats for not kissing his ring,his polling numbers were 35%,Ryan and McConnell told him health Care not going anywhere for awhile,stories about the Secret Service complaining about not having resources for him and his Crime Family,Mensch's Tweet about proven contacts between him and Putin. Gee Whiz,not a beautiful week going there Buddy.

O'Donnell appears to still have his Senatorial contacts and they are talking big time. One only needs to remember,O'Donnell was the Senior Staffer for the Senatorial Tax Committee,and these Staffers tend to not turn over from one Party control to the next party control.