Approval ratings for President Barack Obama increased after he went on television late on a Sunday night to announce that Osama bin Laden had been killed, and that the United States had possession of the body. The mastermind of the attacks on the U.S.S. Cole, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was quickly buried at sea after he was killed. Pundits put forth the opinion that Mr. Obama overcame the perception that he was a weak and indecisive leader. Even his Republican opponents and Rush Limbaugh praised him. Mr. Obama was given credit for succeeding where former President George W. Bush had failed. The president lost some popularity by refusing to release photographs of the slain terrorist leader. He was given credit for good follow through after his announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden. The president visited the site of the 9-11 attacks, and visited with police officers and firefighters at stations near Ground Zero. He also visited families of victims of the 9-11 attacks engineered by Osama bin Laden. Mr. Obama did this without giving speeches, and was not seen as gloating.
Though Mr. Obama was able to take advantage of the death of bin Laden without seeming to take advantage of it for the sake of politics, he still has a tough campaign ahead in his quest for re-election. Even though the number of new jobs has increased, the unemployment rate is not decreasing appreciably. Gas prices continue to climb. Mr. Obama did something to address this issue by announcing that the U.S. Justice Department will investigate whether high gas prices were influenced by unethical speculation among commodity traders. This may help him win re-election only if the investigation results in lower gas prices by November of 2012. The president may be given credit for finally bringing Osama bin Laden to justice, but Republicans will still talk about his inability to balance the federal budget because of unwillingness to make tough and necessary decisions to cut spending. Developments in Libya, Syria and other parts of the Middle East may add more complications to Mr. Obama's attempt to get re-elected. He may have to score another coup closer to Election Day, as voters may forget about bin Laden when they have to pay more than five dollars a gallon to drive to the polls.
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