When the killing of Osama bin Laden was announced, Washingtonians joined in the nationwide spontaneous celebrations. Then began the calculation of the impact of the president’s actions on his electoral prospects.

President Obama’s poll ratings jumped a dozen points. Republicans will, for the time being, have a harder time typecasting the president as a wimp in the great tradition of Jimmy Carter. In short, foreign policy is more or less off the table for the president’s critics, at least for now.