Obama pushes for arms pact as top Dem upbeat

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama lobbied senators by phone Monday to back an arms treaty with Russia that he's called a national security imperative, as a top Senate Democrat conceded "house by house combat" would be needed to win enough GOP votes to prevail.

The president is continuing to call senators as he presses for passage of the New START treaty before Congress adjourns, according to deputy press secretary Bill Burton.

The White House and Senate Democratic leaders expressed confidence they'll ultimately garner the two-thirds vote the Constitution requires for the Senate to ratify the treaty.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats have now picked up the support of GOP Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, an encouraging sign for proponents as Cochran voted against moving ahead on the treaty last week. He said Democrats will need nine or 10 Republican votes to prevail.

Democrats expect to get 57 votes from their caucus, with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., absent due to cancer surgery on Monday. Four Republican senators — Richard Lugar of Indiana, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and George Voinovich of Ohio — have said they back the treaty.

"It's going to be a real slog, house by house combat if you will," Schumer told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday. "But I think we'll be there."

Obama wants the Senate to vote before January when Republicans increase their numbers by five, dimming the outlook for the accord. Complicating Obama's effort is Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said he will oppose the treaty and on Monday railed against the fierce partisanship.

"No senator should be forced to make decisions like this so we can tick off another item on someone's political check list before the end of the year," McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Just weeks after Obama's self-described "shellacking" in the Nov. 2 midterm elections, ratification of the treaty would cap a string of political victories for the White House. Congress endorsed the president's tax compromise with Republicans and voted Saturday to repeal the military's ban on openly gay service members.

In a nod to political sensitivities, Obama held off a celebratory bill signing for legislation ending the ban on openly gay servicemembers in the military until the outcome was clearer on the treaty, said one senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about White House strategy.