Barack Obama Killed Osama Bin Laden. Period.

[oberliner]

The Republicans have glommed on to a neat rhetorical trick: When Barack Obama does something indisputably admirable or effective, simply pretend that he had nothing to do with it.

This ploy was first trotted out in the aftermath of Moamar Qaddafi’s downfall in Libya, when Obama’s former presidential rival, Sen. John McCain, gave all the credit to the French.

Now Mitt Romney, this year’s presumptive GOP nominee, is waving off Obama’s role in the killing of Osama Bin Laden—the president’s signal national-security achievement—by chortling that “any thinking American would have ordered the exact same thing,” even Jimmy Carter.

Two new investigative reports—a book by Peter Bergen, Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad, and an article by Graham Allison in the May 7 issue of Time—thoroughly rebut that notion.


http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/05/barack_obama_s_decision_to_go_after_osama_bin_laden_how_the_president_overruled_his_advisers_in_ordering_the_assassination.html

[tularetom]

1. The liberal media are pushing the idea that Obama is "politicizing" the death of bin Laden

but I don't think its gaining any traction with the public this time. For one thing, most people have finally caught on to the fact that bush and cheney didn't really give a rat's ass about catching or killing him once they used him to start the Iraq clusterfuck. And more importantly, the Obama admin and campaign team for once is not letting the media whining deter them.

And rightly so, Obama deserves all the credit for killing bin Laden.

[Lionessa]

2. NO he didn't. He had others do it for him/USA, but he didn't kill anyone.

Doesn't change the fact that he gets credit for ordering the kill, but he didn't kill no one.

[oberliner]

4. The article is more important than the headline

I agree with your point about the headline, but I think the article itself does a good job of taking down the critiques from the right about Obama's role in this.

[Lionessa]

5. I know, but it's being repeated from both sides and starting to annoy me.

[oberliner]

6. Understood

Still, the hypocrisy of the RW in this case is ridiculous.

[canoeist52]

3. With a candlestick in the Conservatory! I win.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Weren't some Navy guys also involved? nt

[oberliner]

8. I urge you to get past the title

Jeers to Slate for choosing a title for an article that is really about much more.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. It documents that Obama made a good decision

that had some risk attached. I don't think it was a decision on the order of, say, creating the New Deal in terms of scope and riskiness.

The big story here is that the Republicans are pathetic in trying to minimize what Obama did. He did a good job, they should STFU.