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In the last few weeks, as gasoline prices have continued to climb in the United States, President Obama has seen his poll numbers decline, suggesting a potential vulnerability in 2012.
But the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed -- on Obama's watch -- is most definitely a political game-changer and appears destined to impact the contours of the 2012 presidential race, as well as the emerging Republican field. Of course, the size of the impact is yet unknown and will be played out in the months ahead, especially with U.S. unemployment near 9%. The 2012 general election, after all, is more than 550 days away.
As NBC's Chuck Todd also mentioned, it could have an impact on the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan-Pakistan. Does it make the U.S. re-evaluate the mission there? Does it affect the troop draw-down that's scheduled to begin this summer?
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BIN LADEN IS DEAD!!!! JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED ON THIS CRIMINAL!!!!
Both Presidents Bush and Obama deserve a lot of credit. Thanks to both of them!!
Thank you to all service members - land, sea, and air!!
This is not a political moment - this is a moment of victory and justice. ALL Americans were attacked by this criminal. Justice should be celebrated by ALL Americans. The message is that when criminals attack us, we stand together as Americans and we will have justice.
The team and the military are the ONLY ones that deserve praise for that. This page is full of propagandizes idiots on both sides of the isle. Too bad they shot him in the head because it should sit on top of the Washington momument and the Empire state building. His body should be stuffed inside a pig and put in a vat of acid.
Great day to be an american thanks to the soldiers on the ground and thanks Obama
Darby, say the same thing about Bush when he had OBL trapped in Tora Bora. And go blow Bush you racist. I served for seven years, while you were probably milking the system. So watch your mouth.
Coming from the true teabagger you are darby.
I second that! Obama has steered the country away from an impending Depression, corporations are awash in capital, our country is safer now that the head of the snake is cut off. I can't wait to see how the Republican clown party will put a spin on this because they are not capable of giving him any positive feedback, even though all the things he has done are for the good of the country. Makes you wonder who's side are they on?
I am a bleeding heart liberal but I supported Bush when 9/11 occured and I support our current President just as strongly. Tonight is not about politics. It is about being an American. Leave the rest for another day.
I really don't see this changing anything. The credit should go to former President Bush and the brave men and women with "boots on the ground" that did all the real work. All Obama did was carry out the ground work that Bush laid out for him. I don't really care if he is black, white, green or polka dot, I'm not racist, he is just a good talker and has shown the entire world that as President of the United States he has been measured, weighted and has been found wanting. To former President Bush and the brave men and women of our armed forces, JOB WELL DONE.
Whatever Jim. You have very few people who will side with you here. it just makes you sound bitter.
Obama was born here. You were lied to. He is also an American Citizen.
Osama was killed under his watch, using intelligence and a CIA in which he appointed the head and it was he who gave the call to take him down.
The Republicans are the ones who are messing with Medi-care
And unless you're that lucky 1% at the top, you aren't important enough to get that all important job creating extension of tax breaks that Bush gave to the richest people in the America who have been making money hand over fist.
There are few great Presidents. I will give Ronald Regan credit for being one of them. Obama is another. Like it or not. This man's face is going to be on money someday. Kids wil be learning about this man in Kindergarten right alongside Washington, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King. I am proud i voted for him and I never regretted it. Not once.
I do rejoice with the families of the victims of 9/11 who maybe now will find closure. But, the way the press is carrying on in praising Obama, one would think that he went into Islamabad himself and killed Osama with his bare hands. I thank the brave US forces who were able to find him and kill him. The very forces that I do not believe Obama is particularly fond of.
Right Jim D. Because OBL was in Iraq!! Boots on the ground? You know not what you speak of sir. You love talking about supporting the military. But all you do is create divisiveness. You knocking down the CinC is unpatriotic. You say you're not a racist but you can't see beyond the color of our Commander's skin. Credit to Bush?? Are you f***ing kidding me. We had him in Tora Bora and Bush didn't let us go get him. You racist conservative teabaggers have no impartiality at all. You believed Bush when he said Mission Accomplished eight years ago, right?? Grow a pair and see things for what they are. Bush
Leave it to a liberal news group to try and say this will help Obama in the election. Obama remains the worst excuse for a President this county has ever seen.
As far as Bin Lauden goes. 1 down, millions to go!!
Terry-2340999 How many presients have you seen? I go back to Roosevelt and I remember Nixon and GW Bush 2. Those guys were the worst ever.
Just for the hell of it I'll bet if you list all the bad things you think Obama has done, you'll find Bush was actually the one responsible.
The big difference in this case is Obama didn't screw aoround declaring Mission Accomplished and taking victory laps for failure.
One man,aged with kidney failure is not and never was THE threat.To be honest this celebration is as premature and childish as was 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED",with one difference,fmr President Bush did earn the wings and uniform on his back that day.I can understand the rabid orchestrated arab street wildly,madly that performed the rejoicing dance to celebrate 9/11 but I don't understand Americans apeing the arb street by cheering and crowing over the death of one old man,sort of pumping up the crowd to see a flea bitten,underwt,toothless lion tamed by the "hero" Obama,no
Fair is fair. If we get attacked the President is said to have missed the 3am call. If the phone gets answered gotta give credit where credit is due. The intelligence community and the armed forces also deserve credit. But some, not all, some credit goes to the commander in chief.
Thank God for this Republican victory. Dispite interference by Liberals and socialist, the Republicans with no help from the left have killed bin Laden.
Karl Rove and The Donald put this together and they are both so proud.
The question is, "Where was Obama while this was happening?" Probably on his basket ball court. Some say he starts Summer School soon to make up for his lousy grades at Harvard. How does a dummy like him get into Harvard? Wink - Wink. Hey, if you don't believe me, ask Charlie Sheen. He's the "some guy" that told Trump.
Vote for Sarah Palin, she saw this coming from her porch. Hard to beat those credentials!
That was beautiful!
Look here - after 9/11 instead of going to Afghanistan to hunt Bin Laden, we went to Iraq. Even after capturing Saddam, we remained in Iraq. It took a new President to start drawing down troops in Iraq, and ramping uop troops in Afghanistan. It was a new President who started sending unmanned drones into Pakistan. It was this President who gave the go-ahead once he felt sure there was enough intelligence, to take him down. Bush said he didn't care if Osama came back dead or alive. He's dead. Under this President. No matter how you slice it, or try and remove credit, the fact is, that it was under THIS presidents watch that this event occured and to deny that shows nothing but bitter, ugly, poor-sportmanship, and an inability to give credit where credit is due.
Everything that those opposed to President Obama have claimed, has proven to be false, misleading, deceptive, or a distraction. Now look at what's happening to medi-care, now see that even as we are losing valuable public services, and we can't seem to find the money to fund teachers salaries, and police officers, and firefighters, we somehow do have enough money to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy...something that was never intended to be permanent. Wake up. I think most everyone is waking up to the fact that this is actually a damn good President whose doing the best with what he was given. And I say this even to those on the far left who have been bad mouthing the President and whispering Ralph Nader's name again. Stop. Get in the middle with the majority of Americans. I'm not liberal or conservative. I'm in the middle.
Thank you Angel. As a fellow Independent I applaud your rational comments. The right doesn't care what President Obama does. They will never give him credit for ANYTHING. He could cure cancer and they'd blame him for not doing it faster. They say they're not racist, and then they put the "Mistake From Texas" up on a pedestal. Even though he created this debt crisis through two unfunded wars, Bush tax cuts, and a stupid prescription drug program. What the teabaggers fail to remember is that we had a SURPLUS when Bush came into office. But in his quest for "WMDs" and in lining the pockets of the rich, he created this financial hell. And it takes someone as smart as this President to get us out of this ditch. So people need to stop looking at the color of his skin and start giving credit where credit is due. And if you don't like it, go over to the Fixed Noise website. You'll find many fellow thinkers over there.
What a ridiculous story. Osama is one man who at the end was only a figure head. This changes nothing politcally. Obama will see a temporary bump in poll numbers but we are so far from the election that this won't make a bit of difference policatlly in the long run. The war on terror will continue as before and the economy is still a disaster. Obamas policies are going to continue to destroy this country and come election time, the death of bin ladin is not going to register one bit in the minds of voters. Besides most people I think are smart enough to realize that neither Obama or his policies had anything to do with this incident. This was a military and CIA affair from start to finish and all Obama had to do was to authorize is. Hmm lets see...we have osama bin ladin sitting relatively unguarded in a mansion in pakistan. What should we do? Even our dithering indecisive president should be able to make a call like this without much difficulty.
As a retired servicemember who has served under five presidencies (Reagan-Obama); experienced combat, both within conventional military forces and as a special operator, I would like to thank our U.S. military servicemembers for following orders despite their own political and personal views and have proven that the REAL winners are the citizens who choose to act by taking part in effecting some measure of change, NOT just talk about and slander based on the aformentioned political and personal views.
Alot of people on comment sections like this come across as so jaded it's no wonder why our country is so divided and locked in a repetitive cycle. Be quiet if you have NO REAL idea of what's going on unless you are actually there to make these difficult decisons that will never please everyone! Someone will always have a problem no matter who the president is. Just SHUT UP with this political rhetoric of who's watch it was on.
Well JW, the dithering idiot Bush couldn't pull the trigger when we had him cornered in Tora Bora in 2003.
Without a body, his followers won't believe he is dead. Now they say he was "buried at sea." I can't imagine a more stupid choice of action if that has happened. He should have been displayed the way they used to do with criminals in the old US west so everyone could see that he is dead. Without a body, people at home may not believe it either. If that's the case, nothing changes.
To both Peter and Angel...
Peter, you are right when you say that Obama could find a cure for cancer and we still wouldn't vote for him. Let me tell you why I won't, even after Bin Ladens demise...
Your President drew a line in the sand and dared Americans to over turn his white elephant, Obama care....not to mention driving this country into trillions in debt.
Come November 2012, this American WILL cross that line.
Lestweforget I guess you didn't have any problems with the fact Bush spent 21 trillion over 8yrs. Go look it up.
GC
You're right they don't have any problems with it. In their revisionist history they pin 7 trillion of it on Obama. Somehow in their world Obama's responsible for the off the books cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that got pinned onto his budget through a loophole used by Bush.
America doesn't want to vote a reactionary Teapublican into the presidency. Because America knows they would just crush the middle class to further reward the millionaires and billionaires.
Mr. President, congratulations on your 2012 electoral victory. You got the first half of your promises done, you are 99% assured of a 2nd term.
You're the man to lead us forward and I personally will vote for you to get the rest of your promises done. (trains, solar panel factories, electric car battery factories, cut oil subsidies and corporate welfare to pay for it. Also bring the troops home and close Gitmo if it's not too much to ask.)
You freaking liberals are a hoot, really you are. Most of you partly voted Obama in to END the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and don't tell me any different, most of you all wrote off getting OBL and just wanted to leave. Then Obama proceeds to have the same qualities as the failure GWB and even gets us into another mini war in Libya, but as soon as it's reported OBL is killed you all praise him for being a "leader" and staying in Afghanistan to "finish the job." What a bunch of hacks you fake liberal D'baggers are.
Uh, where are you reading all of this, exactly?
Or, are you just making it up?
DLD's:
Sour grapes much?
HA HA HA
Liberals rejoice our president got him. Nothing the right wing nuts can do to top this, there was only one Osama and we got him. HA HA HA.
Somebody sounds bitter.
OBAMA TRUMP JOKE: Robert Gates to Obama staff, "Darn it, everyone remembered we're not supposed to kill foreign heads of state. Quick, get the President on air before Gaddafi reaches the Monday morning news cycle... with what? I don't know... tell em' we killed Osama Bin Laden. Yea I know he died 3 years ago from Hepatitis; but after the birth certificate backfire do you really think Trump will ask us to verify the body is his?"
?
Geez, what a bunch of whiny babies in here.
It's a great day in American history because OBL is dead.
Too many conspiracy theorists and Debbie Downers. Shut up and be happy about something for once.