Most of you probably saw the news this weekend that the United States had joined in a pre-emptive strike on Libyan air defense sites, firing dozens of cruise missiles in support of a broader NATO coalition effort.
But when it came to my email inbox from Congress and the Twitter accounts of lawmakers in both parties, you might have thought members of both parties were more focused on the NCAA men's basketball tournament in recent days.
"Go RichmondBball Spiders! 1st Sweet Sixteen since 1988," Tweeted House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).
"Proud of the way our Wolverines played. GoBlue!" wrote Rep. John Dingell (D-MI).
"Good Luck to BYU today! Beat Gonzaga- lets get to the Sweet 16!" added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
None of them sent out any Tweets about Libya over the weekend to indicate whether they were for or against the military moves by the Obama Administration.
"President should go to the Congress before going to the UN to go to war," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who was by far the most outspoken member of Congress over the weekend.
"I disagree with the use of US force in Libya," Chaffetz added.
"Admiral Mullen rightly states that US play supporting role in Libyan military action. Europeans & Arabs should be out front," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).
That was pretty much it on Twitter about Libya from members the 180 members of the Congress that I follow on that social media site.
My email was just as quiet. One of the few statements came from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said he supported the President's call for military action.
"This U.S. military action was not taken lightly, and it was done in concert with a broad international coalition," Reid said.
On the GOP side, it took almost a full day from the time the first attacks were announced by the U.S. and its coalition partners for any press release to pop up on my blackberry.
“The President is the commander-in-chief, but the Administration has a responsibility to define for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is," said Speaker John Boehner in a written statement issued on Sunday afternoon.
"Before any further military commitments are made, the Administration must do a better job of communicating to the American people and to Congress about our mission in Libya and how it will be achieved," Boehner added.
“With the launch of airstrikes and U.S. military engagement in Libya, the President now has an obligation to explain to Congress and the American people what his Administration’s goals are for these operations," said House Armed Services Committee Chair Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA).
But that was pretty much it, as individual members of Congress laid very low on the Libya issue this weekend, most likely waiting to see which way the winds were blowing.
More liberal Democrats meanwhile were said to be outraged at the decision of President Obama, but there were not many advertising that in public over the weekend.
With President Obama in South America, and the Congress out of town this week, it could be a situation where many in the House and Senate simply wait to see what happens, and adjust their public statements accordingly.
