Pelosi: Obama is 'a tough hombre'

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi has been a skeptic of military action in the past but is going all out on President Obama's call for force against Syria.

That includes Obama's decision to seek approval from Congress, Pelosi told Time magazine in a new interview.

"I certainly do think that it's a sign of strength," Pelosi said. "I would say he's a tough hombre."

The House Minority leader is trying to rack up votes in support of a resolution authorizing a strike against Syria over the use of chemical weapons.

Pelosi heavily criticized the Iraq War during the George W. Bush administration but told Time this situation is different.

"What the Bush administration was asking the country to do on the basis of a false premise was to go to war," Pelosi said. "This isn't about going to war. This is about a limited, tailored strike, of short duration, for a purpose, which is the use of weapons of mass destruction."