COMMENTARY | Barack Obama stood before the nation Sunday to deliver the most historic announcement of his presidency: Osama bin Laden is dead. America's joy gave Obama's sagging approval numbers an 11-point bounce. The questions now are how long will it last, and will it be enough to save his presidency?
Obama's address drew mixed reviews from the media. Where one analyst with Forbes gave him "very high marks," this pundit felt his excessive use of the words "I," "me" and "my" was a desperate effort to make himself believable as a strong commander-in-chief. Predictably, and sadly, one pundit from The Democratic Daily used the event as a personal excuse to slam George Bush and perpetuate his insult that nearly 3,000 Americans deserved to die on 9-11. He should be ashamed.
On Capitol Hill, evaluations of Obama's victory were delivered with a surprising level of bi-partisan poise. While Nancy Pelosi described the mission's success as "a tribute to the leadership of our commander in chief," she graciously acknowledged the contributions of George Bush and Bill Clinton, according to ABC News. John Boehner also commended Obama and Bush "for all their efforts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice."
Among members of the military and their families, news of bin Laden's demise at the hands of Navy SEALs was met with praise and a sense of pride. Embracing the obvious emotional vindication, military leaders temper their celebration with awareness. All acknowledge that their objective remains ongoing.
Maj. Rob Born, brigade operations officer of counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, said bin Laden's death won't require significant strategy change, according to Military.com. Born's task force believes bin Laden was more of a symbolic leader than a part of day-to-day operations. Capt. David McKim, the brigade's assistant intelligence officer, said bin Laden's death is just another example of how his profession operates: "Things don't happen instantly, sometimes. A lot of our successes take time to build."
Just as success doesn't happen instantly, neither does failure. It has taken time for President Obama to dig the approval number hole he is standing in. When Obama ascended to the presidency in January of 2009, he had an impressive 69 percent approval rating, according to Gallup. A month later, Americans supported Obama's handling of the war on terror by a margin of more than two-to-one. Upon reaching the benchmark of his first 100 days, the president was given a strong 60 percent favorability rating for his management of the economy.
By the onset of the November mid-terms, Harris Interactive reports Obama's approval record hit an all-time low of 37 percent. Just before the death of bin Laden, only 44 percent of Americans were favorable of his job performance. In the days after, while the president's approval rate was lifted upon the crest of an 11-point American joy wave, support for his handling of our economic crisis continues to circle the drain.
Most notable about Obama's shifting numbers is that the apex of his favorability was in the nascence of his presidency. While he did receive bumps after his Tucson Memorial speech and a debatable boost after passage of Obamacare, both favorability spikes were short-lived. For all of his slips and bumps, Obama's overall approval numbers have consistently stabilized at lower levels than those in previous polls. The president's most considerable losses are related to his unpopular policy decisions. As "the devil is in the details," the more Americans learn of his key legislative policies -- Obamacare, Cap and Trade, Immigration Reform and the budget crisis -- the further Obama's approval numbers fall.
Where Obama once had the power to draw massive crowds who cheered and hung upon his every word, he struggles now to fill modest venues and his speeches are interrupted by hecklers. Where fellow Democrats scrambled to capitalize on the popularity of Obama's first year as president, by the approach of the 2010 mid-terms, his toxic approval numbers caused even the most faithful among them to actively shun his presence. The decline in favorability among his most loyal supporters should also give Obama serious cause for concern.
Despite the hope that bin Laden's death is Obama's "game-changer," statistics of past approval bumps related to national security issues prove them to be a poor springboard for re-election success. He has tripled the national debt. High unemployment and mounting foreclosures continue to plague the nation. Gas is predicted to hit $5 per gallon by summer's end, according to CBS' Chicago affiliate.
These are the issues affecting the daily lives of Americans. These are the concerns they will carry into voting booths in 2012. In a matter of weeks, this bump will fade. If President Obama doesn't face the reality of America's loathing for his catastrophic economic policies and does not give serious effort to solving the budget crisis, Osama bin Laden's death - however magnificent - will be little more than a glorious footnote at the end of an otherwise disappointing single term.
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