Obama Gave Up on Syrian Regime?

David Ignatius:

Last week, the [Obama] administration all but gave up on [President Assad] and began to work for a transition to a new, democratic regime. […] Obama’s judgment is that “Assad is a guy who has taken all the wrong steps in response to protest,” says a White House official. The thinking in Washington now is about getting to the post-Assad era, quickly and peacefully.

For some reason, I’m still finding this very difficult to believe..