Politics and the Death of an Enemy

"Let's be clear on one thing: OBAMA did NOT kill Bin Laden. An American soldier, who Obama just a few weeks ago was debating on whether or not to PAY, DID. Obama just happened to be the one in office when our soldiers finally found OBL and took him out. This is NOT an Obama victory, but an AMERICAN… victory!! REPOST IF YOU AGREE!!!"

Goodness, I cannot even begin to fathom the ignorance of the people who post this BS. Let me, for my own benefit, take this ridiculous statement apart in all its falsehoods.

1. No duh President Obama did not kill Bin Laden. However, the very well trained Navy SEELS did. He has worked very closely with intelligence officials since he got into office. Last August they got a lead that OBL was hiding in Pakistan in plain sight. Several months later, after much work, in February they confirmed he was indeed living on a compound in the middle of a military city 50 miles away from Islamabad. Two weeks ago, the president made the choice between taking him alive or shooting him on sight. He chose to kill the bastard. He made the right decision in my book.

2. The president was never willing to not pay our soldiers who needed the money to support themselves and their families. Congress, made up of both Democrats and Republicans, could not come to an agreement on this fiscal year's budget. The main problem here was that many Republicans wanted to completely defund Planned Parenthood on the basis that they perform so many abortions a year (when in reality that only makes up 3% of their total services given per year and is not allowed to be funded by federal money in the first place). That was not acceptable since they provide women with few alternatives things like BC, pap smears, family planning counseling, cancer screenings, and so much more. It was stupid stuff like this that held up a reasonable budget from being passed. Yes, we all realize how bad the economy is and that we cannot keep funding everything out the wazoo, but some stuff (like healthcare for all, Planned Parenthood, and NPR/PBS) provide necessary and beneficial things to our lives as Americans.

3.Yes, Obama did happen to be in office. But let's look at how long he has been there. It has been officially two years and almost four months now. How long was President Bush there since we invaded Afghanistan looking for Bin Laden? More than seven years. And guess what happened? We invaded Iraq and took out Saddam Hussein. He literally said that Bin Laden was no longer a major concern. Essentially they gave up caring since they got what they wanted: a major presence in a country with lots of oil and that had done somebody's father wrong during the first Gulf War. It's frickin' HILARIOUS how those clowns are now saying he just finished what they started. Yes, they did start it, but they also gave up and shifted gears. This stuff has been documented and recorded for goodness sake. It's not like us liberal scum are making it up just to make our last president look bad. He really said it because that was how his policy priorities shifted. Now I honestly don't have much wrong with that because at least he was being honest. What irritates me is how they are swooping in and trying to take credit for something they stopped shooting for as their major goal.

4. Finally, this of course is not an Obama victory alone. Nothing a president does ever really could be counted as such. However, this is something that was able to happen under his watch because he was, despite what folks might think, very much involved with this particular operation. Clinton and Bush both missed out on taking him out. So the circumstances were right under Obama, and his decisions along with the actions of our brave men and women have led to this moment that much of the globe is happy about. So it is in fact a victory facilitated by our Commander in Chief, our military, and our intelligence officers. Whether you voted for him or not, he is doing what he believes is right for our country. And guess what? He got this thing right. So yes, this IS his victory, but he alone cannot claim it. It belongs to all those serving in the military in any capacity, to those citizens who pay taxes to support him and them, and to the world that demands freedom from any kind of extremist ideology no matter the origin or rhetoric.

I was stupid and young when I espoused that Bush was not my president just because I disagreed with most of what he stood for. I was wrong and would never think that again no matter who gets elected and what party they come from. He or she WILL be my president because that is what my fellow countrymen and women decided was right at the time. Those who say such things now piss me off, but they are just caught in the same state I was in. Personally I have grown and learned that that is not the correct attitude to have. I cannot say for certain now what any Obama opponents truly believe, but I do feel like he gets more hate because of his race and the retarded assertion that he is socialist. Learn what the concept means before you decide that it's bad. (Hint: it's not communism, we have it in some places to some degree, and it is not inherently evil).

And as for him being black...guess what, folks? Race is a biologically false notion that is transmitted differently in parts of the world based on culture. As an anthropology student, I have learned this truth. Obama looks African because his dad was from Kenya, but he is just as much "American" as I am. He just has darker skin because his ancestors came from somewhere near the equator while mine came from the northern latitudes. Science is your friend, not your enemy.

Well...I guess this kind of winds down my long rant. There are moments when I disagree with him. Those are plenty, trust me. However, he is still the better choice from two years ago. I don't ever regret voting for what I believed in. I just wish it was within his power to do more of what he promised (and don't start on that expanded government nonsense because Pres. Bush did way more in that area, which is usually forgotten about ever so conveniently). Obama is our president whether you like it or not. He was born in Hawaii to a white American woman and an African man. He's had some successes and some failures. Deciding to have our military kill Osama Bin Laden is definitely a success. So just get over it already.