President Obama Dings Mitt Romney Over Bin Laden Ad Complaints

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama defended using the killing of Osama bin Laden in a campaign context on Monday while insisting that neither he nor his campaign were engaged in "excessive celebration."

Appearing at a press conference with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan, the president noted that he had simply done what he had pledged to do, which was act on intelligence with respect to the former al Qaeda leader even if it meant going deep into Pakistan. Without naming names, he jabbed Mitt Romney for protesting a web ad that his campaign had put out highlighting the killing of bin Laden, and questioned whether the presumptive Republican nominee would have done the same.

"As far as my personal role and what other folks would do, I just recommend that everybody take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into Pakistan and take out bin Laden," Obama said. "I assume that people meant what they said when they said it. That's been at least my practice. I said we would go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him. And I did. If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they would do something else, then I would go ahead and let them explain it."

(Video above)

The remarks from Obama seemed likely to further thrust the political world into a déjà-vu-inducing squabble over the ethics of campaigning on national security. The debate over the extent to which terrorism could be used as a campaign cudgel was litigated extensively during the 2004 election. Eight years later, it has become clear that the matter has yet to be settled.

The facts are different between now and then. The threat of al Qaeda and the memories of 9/11 loomed over the Bush-Kerry contest. When then-president George W. Bush accused his opponent Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) of endangering the nation, Bush was foreshadowing a threat. Obama, by contrast, has turned the successful raid he ordered of bin Laden's compound into a tangible campaign-year triumph. There is nothing theoretical about the ad. The achievement happened and he took credit.

It was when the Obama campaign suggested that Romney would not have done the same that things grew testy. Romney has stated that he didn't believe it was worth devoting copious time or resources to capturing bin Laden. He also criticized Obama for publicly stating that he would go into Pakistan to attack al Qaeda. Romney insisted on Monday that he'd have signed off on the raid were he in the hot seat.

The ad and its undertones drew tough criticism on Monday. As the Huffington Post's founder Arianna Huffington said on CBS "This Morning": "There is no way to know whether Romney would've been as decisive. And to actually speculate that he wouldn't be is, to me, not the way to run campaigns on either side."

Certainly, this is the way Democrats felt about the attacks on Kerry in 2004. And there were many of them, including the famous wolves ad run by the Bush-Cheney campaign.

But if there is duplicity going on here, it is working both ways. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) put out a blistering statement last Friday calling the president shameful for turning 9/11 and Osama bin Laden into "a cheap political attack ad." Left unmentioned or simply forgotten was the leading role McCain played in a Bush-Cheney web ad that centered on Bush's certitude in the face of attack from America's "depraved enemies."

UPDATE: Romney campaign spokesperson Andrea Saul emails over a response to the president.

It’s unfortunate that President Obama would prefer to use what was a good day for all Americans as a cheap political ploy. President Obama’s feckless foreign policy has emboldened our adversaries, weakened our allies, and threatens to break faith with our military. While the Obama administration has naively stated that ‘the war on terror is over,’ Gov. Romney has always understood we need a comprehensive plan to deal with the myriad of threats America faces.

Comments

[TarzanaGirl]

11:20 PM on 07/08/2012

Bush COULD have gone after Bin Laden if he really WANTED to, which of course he didn't. His ONLY goal was to seek revenge on Saddam Hussein for threatening his daddy ... oh and also to take charge of Iraq's oil. Strangely enough, Bush threw himself a party anyway - i.e. we can all recall the extremely inappropriate "Mission Accomplished" Banner ......

[Marge Douglas]

06:18 PM on 05/04/2012

Obama is like a boss that takes all of the credit for a long project that ends in a successful outcome.
From an article http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/02reconstruct-capture-osama-bin-laden.html
"Detainees at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had given the courier’s pseudonym to American interrogators and said that the man was a protégé of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

American intelligence officials said Sunday night that they finally learned the courier’s real name four years ago, but that it took another two years for them to learn the general region where he operated."

Had it not been for intelligence received from GITMO that OBH wants to shut down, Osama would likely never have been captured at all.

[mollysmomma]

09:16 PM on 05/04/2012

there are different opinions as to whether torture helped reveal anything important. it is against the law and against good conscious to do that anyway. bush and cheney should most likely be in prison. President Obama should be credited with bin laden's demise. many of President Obama's advisers were unsure. President Obama made the decision to go in and to kill bin laden. bush had his chance and was not interested. President Obama would sure be blamed if things had gone wrong......the right will certainly not forget what happened to President Carter. President Obama gladly gave praise to all who worked on this plan. he vehemently praised them all, especial seal team 6. your whole comment is wrong...and you know it!

[Marge Douglas]

10:24 PM on 05/04/2012

Yes, I said he gave praise to the special ops but not once gave credit to the YEARS of work by anyone in the previous administration to reach the point where Osama could be capturedl And I did not say anything about torture - you are implying that. AND OMG, if anyone who was president at the time that Osama was found would NOT have given the order, then shame on them. It just so happened that OBH was in the right place at the right time so don't over credit him. Bush was interested or he wouldn't have had all the intelligence continuing to happen. This situation didn't happen overnight. Did you NOT read the article?

[glitterik]

08:37 AM on 05/04/2012

I love watching the republicans squirm at the fact that, after their 8 years of failure, President Obama killed OBL. They allowed 9/11 to happen, and used it to start 2 wars, and bragged about it for 8 long years, but can't stand it that President Obama not only finished what they couldn't start, but is ending their wars to boot.

[bensfiction]

10:39 PM on 05/03/2012

What's the deal here? Republicans are using the idea that "Obama is using Osama as a political device" as a political device???

Isn't Obama just restating Mitt's opinion that he wouldn't go into Pakistan? I'm not understanding the huge debate. It's like a kid arguing with you when they've crashed your car. There's no argument, just embarrassed children who can't admit they're wrong.

[karen1963yorks]

10:06 AM on 05/03/2012

Bin Laden dead. I can celebrate that. I know a great many people who celebrated.

[David Olend]

09:34 AM on 05/03/2012

August 2007
Barack Obama:”If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”

Romney response: “I do not concur in the words of Barack Obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours… I don’t think those kinds of comments help in this effort to draw more friends to our effort,”

.....and reminding the voting public of what he accomplished and the stand his competitor took on the matter is wrong why?....

[misterzay]

12:56 PM on 05/03/2012

.....and reminding the voting public of what he accomplished and the stand his competitor took on the matter is wrong why?....

Because Rush says it's wrong
F&F

[barrada nicto]

09:52 PM on 05/03/2012

Exactly. Because there are so many liar defamers at work.

[bensfiction]

10:36 PM on 05/03/2012

Fanned and faved

[Wisdo]

08:30 AM on 05/03/2012

Seriously the rights and wrongs of Obamas ad are one thing, but republicans can SHUT UP about using "terrorism" in an ad campaign - thats practically ALL THEY EVER DO.

[spongeworthy06]

02:35 AM on 05/03/2012

Why did he have a White House staff member at the press conference,with the PM of another country, then call on her to read a series of questions from a script she was holding?

[tj101]

03:06 AM on 05/03/2012

He was asked a direct question by Christi Parsons of the LA Times.

Why do conservatives have to lie to make a point?

[misterzay]

12:57 PM on 05/03/2012

It's in their DNA

[noahmarder]

01:48 AM on 05/03/2012

Why is this in Black Voices?

[tj101]

02:45 AM on 05/03/2012

Blue typeset is usually 'Politics'. This site has been glitchy all night long.

[taquinas]

11:17 PM on 05/02/2012

To the cons on here. Mr. Etch a Sketch is toast. Donate your time and money to charity.

[darlnitsme]

09:16 PM on 05/02/2012

Well, lets just call it like it is. The Republicans are WEAK ON NATIONAL SECURITY.

Now, with that said, I think that there are a number of reasons for the Republicans to have started 2 wars, let Bin Laden go in Tora Bora and accused a decorated war hero, Senator Kerry, of being a coward and not worthy of his commendations.

As a vetran myself I know these awards are given for specific reasons. Kerry deserved every commendation he received. They are not given out lightly.

Back to the Republicans and being WEAK ON NATIONAL SECURITY. The amount of money made by the companies that were supporting these was staggering. Why end something with the killing of Bin Laden that is making Chaney's cronies so much money. Why get tough on security when it's only going to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to your wallet.

So much for President Bush's service to his country. A few months active duty, never getting anywhere near combat versus a decorated war hero. How on earth did the Right Wing sell this to the American public??????

[eclark1710]

08:40 PM on 05/02/2012

Whaa-whaa-whaa. Sour grapes galore. The President made a decision against the advice of his intelligence and was proven right. If the mission had been less than successful you can bet your sweet bippy the GOP would have ads plastered all over the country about Obama's "failure." How much did we have to listen to regarding Flight-Suit-George and his "resolve" during 9/11 -- which wasn't as much resolve as an excuse to finish Daddy's mission in Iraq.

Can't have it both ways.

[spongeworthy06]

02:36 AM on 05/03/2012

what?

[Michael Greene]

12:15 AM on 05/05/2012

Oh, don't forget the trillions of dollars spent basically to get revenge against Sadaam Hussein for his sending a hit team after Bush 41. There are some guys in my area in South Philly who could have done the job for WAY less than a trillion bucks...

[Bufford P Tusser]

02:44 PM on 05/02/2012

If there wasn't a buck in it for him, mitt would of passed.

[skeehanson5990]

02:09 PM on 05/02/2012

I can easily understand the GOT-Party's distress. Bush had the chance to go after bin Laden and didn't. Romney said bin Laden wasn't worth going into Pakistan for. Obama went in with a small detail (not the army earlier sent into Afghanistan) and got him. The American people were, not suprisingly, pleased. Now, with elections looming, the President has the sheer gall to claim credit for his success! POLITICIZING an ELECTION! AND--what is worse--with a true claim! That's one thing we know the Republicans would never be guilty of! If I was a Republican, I'ld be angry too!

[Wisdo]

08:32 AM on 05/03/2012

You liberals are always politicizing politics. Its degrading! Politics should be about keeping women in their place and increasing stealth taxes on our serfs.

[bensfiction]

10:48 PM on 05/03/2012

I think we all know who to think for Obama single handedly setting up the team to go into Pakistan against advice from political collegues....George W. Bush

[Artie Lee Bray]

02:02 PM on 05/02/2012

Stewarts latest shows the RANK hypocrisy of the GOP on this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/jon-stewart-blasts-republ_n_1470431.html