Nearly a full year has passed since the U.S. mission that killed Osama bin Laden, and President Obama's re-election campaign is clearly eager to remind American voters of his counter-terrorism success. Obama for America released this new video overnight.
Note, however, that the clip doesn't just praise the president's leadership; it also asks, "Which path would Romney have taken?"
It's clearly a relevant question, not just because Obama's record will matter as part of the 2012 debate, but also because this is seen as a legitimate vulnerability for the presumptive Republican nominee.
Indeed, Vice President Biden delivered a lengthy speech on foreign policy yesterday, hammering Romney as an inexperienced naif with a reckless and ignorant worldview. The OBL angle was a key part of the remarks.
"In 2008, while campaigning for the nomination, Governor Romney was asked what he would do about bin Laden. Let me tell you exactly what he said, and I quote. He said, 'there would be very insignificant increase in safety,' then he went to say, 'if Bin Laden was brought to justice. ' That's a quote. He then went on to say, 'it's not worth moving heaven and Earth, spending billions of dollars just to catch one person.'
"Here's how candidate Obama answered that question. He said, 'if I have Osama bin Laden in our sights, I will take him out. I will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. This has to be our biggest national security priority.'
"I was a little bit more direct. I said, we'd follow the S.O.B. to the gates of Hell if we had to."
The Romney campaign hasn't offered much in the way of pushback, probably because he'd prefer the issue just go away. The former governor, who has no background in military policy, national security policy, or international affairs, really did say "it's not worth moving heaven and earth" to get the terrorist responsible for 9/11. Around the same time, Romney said he would not order a strike into Pakistan to get bin Laden, rejecting Obama's willingness "to enter an ally of ours" to target the terrorist leader.
The more Americans hear about this, the worse it is for the GOP nominee.
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Great ad - though I don't love the music chosen - and I'm so glad that Chicago is striking out at the Republicans, rather than merely answering them when they throw punches. This is what Obama has to continue to do. And do. And do.
What the President provides is leadership. As Joe Biden said Bin Ladin is dead and GM is still alive. Both because Obama made the correct call. How would Romney have decided?
Lest we all forget, Seal Team 6 are government employees. Described by the GOP as not having "real jobs". Same goes for the teams that flew the space shuttles.
Talk about naive and inexperienced - for Romney to publicly say he would not order a strke in Pakistan to get bin Laden is to tell bin Laden "Go live in Pakistan - you'll be safe there." The man has no clue how to handle foreign policy.
Too bad it won't keep Romney from the White House if the nut factory has it's way. I know a person who is calling President Obama a "murderer" for killing Bin Laden. Go figure.
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
I keep coming back to Bogie's monologue at the end of The Maltese Falcon:
The same thing was true with bin Laden. If 3000 of our fellow citizens are killed, our leaders are supposed to do something about it. It's bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad for every American everywhere.
You'd think that that simple concept would have no trouble finding a home on the right side of our political spectrum. Yet nobody on the right yelped when Bush abandoned the pursuit of bin Laden, and Romney apparently saw no need to resume the hunt.
Other than tax cuts for the rich, deregulation of corporations, and cutting government services to people who are middle class or below, there's really nothing left to conservatism besides hippie-bashing.
Oh, but Romney isn't just wishing it would go away -- his campaign is complaining that the president is using the issue to "divide Americans!" It would be so much less divisive, don't you know, if the president just said we all did it equally, instead of claiming credit and pointing out that Romney said he wouldn't have done it.
Give this guy a self-esteem trophy!
Obama has used his special forces 110% perfect.... The we come to the wait till your buddy gets mowed down rule in Afghan land then you can shoot back.....
I read Ayn Rand while in High School and was deeply moved and influenced. I went back to her works after Grad school and can sum up my opinion simply: What a load of crap!
Rep Ryan, put your head back on your shoulders and remove it from where it is,