It was a great day for America and the word. I give credit where I see fit, I don't see where he did anything that deserves any. Would any president say "no" don't kill him? I choose to praise the brave guys who captured KSM, who water boarded this info out of him and who dropped out of that chopper in the area of that compound and went in there and took him out.
It was you who asked what does this mean for 2012.
Political mileage? You mean like going to a place where you have not been since elected president? Is that political mileage?
We will never know the details, but Obama was reportedly very involved in deciding to go the route of using the SEALs rather than drone bombing or cruise missiles so that the body would not be destroyed and we could be sure. In fact, it is reported that it was Obama who made that specific choice.
Second, and related, by using SEALS rather than bombing the place it is reported we got ten hard drives plus all sorts of documentation that I certainly hope will help us identify others, track funding, etc., so that we can really take it to them.
For obvious reasons, we are not going to be told every step in the process. But it is painfully obvious that your comment that all he did was sign off on the operation is just flat out wrong.
We are a result-oriented society and always will be. Taking the avenue of cheapening this will not work.
Obama has plenty of poor results for the opposition to focus on. They'd be best served by giving him his due (but not any more than that) for this event, and moving on.
I agree. But by the same token, it is incorrect to say that all Obama did was get the result. It is clear from what we do know that Obama personally participated in planning and decision making.
Did he fuel the helicopters? Pick the men? Draw up the battle plan? No.
Did he authorize construction of the practice facility and the operation? Yes. Did he choose the particular approach, very risky to the men involved and to his political future (see e.g. Carter) that got us proof positive as well as some promising intelligence? Absolutely.
When Bush went to Ground Zero I thought he was very presidential and I gave him high marks for saying the exact right things and acting in a manner that restored confidence to a very shaken nation. To this day I still give Bush credit for that and think he did an outstanding job in the days after 9/11.
Some on the far right just cannot seem to bring themselves to give Obama any credit at all, even when clearly deserved.
