GOP: Obama exploiting killing of bin Laden

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - Tuesday marks one year since U.S. Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The anniversary is turning into a presidential campaign issue.

Republicans say Mr. Obama is using bin Laden's death for political gain, and they don't like it.

When the president announced bin Laden's death, he called it a moment for national unity, saying, "Today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people."

Now, Mr. Obama's campaign is using the president's decision to order the bin Laden mission as a point of contrast with likely GOP opponent Mitt Romney.

"Osama bin Laden no longer walks on this planet today because of that brave decision and the brave actions by the men and women in our military," senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "And quite frankly, Mitt Romney said it was a foolish thing to do a few years ago."

That comes after the release by the Obama campaign Friday of a web video featuring former President Clinton saying Mr. Obama "took the harder and the more honorable path, and the one that produced, in my opinion, the best result."

The video then asks, "Which path would Mitt Romney have taken?"

Gibbs and the Obama campaign are referencing remarks Romney made in 2007, that it is "not worth moving Heaven and Earth and spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person." Romney said he was more focused on a comprehensive terrorism strategy.

Special section: The killing of Osama bin Laden
The killing of Osama bin Laden: The story in pictures

Republicans say the Obama campaign is exploiting what should be a nonpartisan victory for the country.

"This is one of the reasons President Obama has become one of the most divisive presidents in American history," senior Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie said on "Meet the Press" Sunday. "He's managed to turn it into a divisive, partisan political attack."

And in a statement, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Mr. Obama's White House rival in 2008, writes that the president is "doing a shameless end-zone dance to help himself get reelected."

[In 2007 McCain referred to Romney's bin Laden comment as "naive."]

This is not a new theme for the Obama campaign. Just last Thursday, Vice President Biden summed up what he said could be a bumper sticker for the campaign, saying, "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive" (referring to the Obama administration-backed bailout of the auto company).

To see Bill Plante's report, click on the video in the player above.

[TJphoto]

The Republicans would never even consider doing anything like this....Right! Just ask Karl Rove. Fact, He got OBL. Tango Sierra Guys.

[TimeToEvolve]

After the complete;y failed, incompetent reign of terror of Bush Cheney (backed by the GOP all the way), what do they expect?

[winemaster2]

This economic terror besieged, ideologically divided, polarized nation on a fast track of self destruction from within, all thanks to the conservative republican Reagan, who these GOP hold in reverence, for pure political reason had no qualms, scruples, or gumption to provide bin Laden / Mujahadeen his favorite freedom fighters some tens of billions in cash, plus military hardware to the hilt for that other conservative republican proxy war in Afghanistan. Plus all kinds of secret promises for more political reasons and the conservative republican agenda , causes, Reagan's conservative revolution etc.

Then when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan and the dust settled , for same more political reasons and the GOP values, they reneged all the promises. Thus creating ENEMY # ONE. Bin Laden and his al Queada.

Had these conservative republicans just owned up their rotten to the core end, 9/11 would have never happened. Nor would the Judaeo-Christian psychopathy led by Bush/ Cheney and the rest of these malignant narcissist, chronic scapegoating, incorrigible conservative republican menace, with their bigotry, racism, perversity of inequality, rights only of their kind , their hog wash of Islam bashing, propaganda of terror hype, fomentation of hate, fear, wrapping up in the flag, republican patriotic feeding frenzy to control the hearts and minds of a misled and gullible nation.

For these same yahoos conservative republican, their ultimate evil and political reason to control power, run, operate, manage the Bush/ Cheney secret Government of Executive privilege, aided abetted and condoned by the usual 5 to 4 vote of the conservative republican dominated US Supreme Court. That is the first place selected and installed as President of this beguiled, moribund nation.

For the same political reasons, the GOP under Bush / Cheney rotten to the core tutelage, it was necessary to implement the fraud war on Iraq with falsified and manufactured evince and non existence link to the same Bid Landen / alQueda and Islam bashing. In addition, for the same political reasons , profits of the Industrial-military-security complex to start a war on terror at home plus Afghanistan / Pakistan. In fact Bin Laden has been used by these conservative republicans to mislead this gullible nation for a tune of some trillion dollars or more during 8 years just for the BS untenable war on terror and the fraud war on Iraq, for their mean to end political needs, enriching their war monger cohorts the Koch Brothers, Foster Freiss, Sheldon Aledson, the US Petrochemical Industry, Halliburton, and others , who for more GOP political power grab etc kicked back, made pay backs and campaign contribution.

All along for that same and more political end to continue these wars, Bush / Cheney just kept of beating the Islam Bashing / bin Laden Enemy # ONE drum, and arose passions and entice the misled and gullible people, while fro over 5 years bin laden live like a lord in a special very private compound in Pakistan and the Bush / Cheney/ their CIA under Goss Porter, the Air Force General Hyden, Rumsfeld's DOD, military intelligence etc had no idea if the ENEMY # was was even alive. The premise and for the end to the political needs was to just keep on racking the federal deficit , which in 2008 just Bush / Cheney.

As a result in 8 years of Bush / Cheney secret govt. of executive privilege the same conservative republican evil menace got filthy rich, lived high on the hog. While the federal deficit stacked up to over $8 trillion and we the people plus the nation hocked up to some $14 trillion debt to the Chinese, Arabs / other so that Bush / Cheney and these conservative could pay for the wars that were necessary for their political survival.

Now that Obama Administration with a new team at the CIA and DOD found and eliminated the menace Bin Laden, these chronic scapegoating incorrigible grab baggers conservative republican with their forked tongues have the audacity talk / ***** about political reasons hog wash. And they have this uptight , arrogant, control freak, with a cork up his rear end, high priest of the Mormon Church and its dubious finance minister and his five sons, who never spilled a drop of their blood pretending to be this moribund nation's economic saviors" when in fact, these Yahoos, have all their ill gotten filthy money banked off shore, they pay less then minimum taxes, all are A list Wall St, shysters, looking down on the poor with no jobs, homes fore closed and these Mitt Romney lot with five luxury homes and the new Valhalla at the cost of over $12 million being build in La Jolla California.

[Kestrel88]

Frankly, I hope the GOP continues its harsh criticism of any Obama accomplishment that's been good for this country, from turning the economy around, albeit slowly, to saving the American auto industry, to killing Osama bin Laden. Why? Because it exposes GOP'ers as the petty, bitter, angry, irrational, America-haters they are.

Now they're even attacking Obama for being "cool". LOL. Because why, a president should look and govern like the "dud" in Mystery Date?

[Kestrel88]

Obama deserves to tout his accomplishment of killing a man who launched the worst attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor. Any GOP'er with a modicum of intellectual honesty will tell you that it was a gutsy move to pull off -- his presidency would have basically been over if that mission failed.

GOP'ers launching these petty tirades might soothe themselves by excusing their inadequacies, but to anyone sane, they just sound like a bunch of sour, bitter people who act as if they really want this president and America to fail. They've basically said as much.

God help us if such people ever regain power, it'll be Dubya all over again.

[1988JAck]

This is really funny! Obama exploiting killing bin Laden? Is the GOP kidding? After Bush's wars of folly, after years of GOP fear mongering, how can they possible say this with a straight face? There is no reality left on the right, just lies and hypocrisy.

[mizRicki]

Democrats had apoplexy during the 2004 & 2008 campaigns if anyone mentioned UBL, now they are distorting Obama's real involvement and what Mr. Romney actually said, they continue to show the type of individuals they are and people that support him, especially the media who fail to call his administration and campaign out on their claims is shameful. Also, for the campaign to use Bill Clinton to talk about Obama's so-called role is laughable, he had several occasions to get UBL and failed to do it.

[robbyr2]

The GOP would never have killed bin Laden. He was much too useful when they wished to use the fear of terrorism to get elected to office.

[Kestrel88]

Clinton did try, several times but missed. Remember when Republicans got all indignant when Clinton went on Faux News and defended his attempts as at least trying while pointing out that Dubya let OBL get away at Tora Bora by outsourcing his capture to local warlords? The point is, Bush didn't want OBL captured or killed, he was too useful a tool to continue an infantile color-coded "War on Terror" that duped the American people into being supine to the GOP robber-baron agenda that almost caused a second Great Depression.

[chuck418-2_0]

Well, Osama is really dead, while W. Bush's flight suit landing Mission Accomplished celebration, also partisan, was sadly premature by seven years.
Not an easy decision to send American's on to the soil of a nuclear nation whose cooperation we still need in Afghanistan. It was a big risk which could have lead to captured American soldiers in enemy hands, or some other Pakistani clan leader, instead of Enemy No.1

[littleoldguy]

It looks to me that, while politicians in both party are all quick to take credit for success and blame the other party for failure, GOP seems to think they are rightfully doing so, whereas the other side should not do it for political gains. There's no more shameless self-rightfulness than this.