COMMENTARY | On the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, I'm reminded of how, through both terms, George W. Bush said we'd get bin Laden. We invaded Afghanistan to find him.
He never found him.
President Barack Obama not only found bin Laden, but in an operation built on meticulous planning and intricate precision, eliminated him and gained intelligence. While arm-chair presidential hopefuls claim they would have done the same thing with equal success, it's not possible, and herein lies the unique brilliance of Barack Obama. That vision exemplifies why the president will get my vote in November.
An enormous aspect of leadership is picking the right team, people who do their jobs not as you would, but as they would. It's identifying strengths and trusting team members to use them, as the president did with our highly trained Navy Seals. They did what they went in to do, nothing more, and nothing less.
The split-moments when decisions must be made immediately, without time for reflection, make or break presidents. For Bush, the minutes he sat, unmoving, in a school classroom on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, said it all for me: When pressed, he could not act.
When pressed, Barack Obama not only acted, but weighed, in microseconds, the pros and cons of bin Laden's capture. He considered the problems with holding bin Laden for trial. Where could that safely be done? How could we be assured he wasn't giving orders from prison? How would we deal with his martyrdom? How would the security of the U.S. be compromised by capturing and trying bin Laden? He processed all of these complex issues, and then gave the only order that would protect his country.
We elect a president to substitute his judgment for ours when that time comes. Obama has proven to me that even under extreme pressure and opposition, he is reasoned, logical, and willing to make the hard decisions. His capture of bin Laden confirmed I made the right decision in 2008, and secured my vote in 2012.
