President Obama’s announcement Sunday night that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a dramatic shootout with U.S. forces in Pakistan nearly 10 years after his al Qaeda terrorist network struck America will likely prove to be a pivotal moment in Obama’s beleaguered presidency and is likely to boost his poll numbers for weeks — possibly months — to come, according to experts. “Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children,” Obama said from the East Room of the White House before midnight Sunday.
The president made clear that he played a direct role in the patient intelligence-gathering and authorization of bin Laden’s assassination.
But he was careful not to take sole credit for the feat in a speech that will likely be considered one of the most notable presidential addresses in U.S. history.
The death of bin Laden could mark a critical turning point in Obama’s presidency, experts say.
“He certainly made clear that he was directing the operation,” said Steve Lombardo, a pollster and political consultant who worked on George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign. “It’s a time not to mince words, and he didn’t. It shows the president as a clear and decisive leader, and that’s where he was showing some weakness in the polls.”
Obama’s approval ratings will spike in the next couple weeks as a result of bin Laden’s death, and if the president plays his cards right, he could sustain the favorable ratings for months, according to Darrell West, vice president of government studies at the Brookings Institution.
The development comes at a time of growing scrutiny of the president’s decidedly staid – critics say detached – leadership style.
“I thought he struck just the right tone,” West said. “He wasn’t gloating, he stuck to the facts, and basically delivered the most important message which was that justice has been served.”
Bin Laden’s death also will give Obama greater credibility in national security matters, West added.
Obama called former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before addressing the nation Sunday to brief them on the military operation, according to senior administration officials. He was careful to later credit Bush in his speech.
“The United States is not — and never will be — at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam,” Obama said.
Commending Bush was “exactly the right thing to do,” Lombardo said. Obama’s bipartisan tone and affirmation that he was heavily involved in the military planning of the operation “will be very helpful with soft Republicans and swing voters who may have been, over last 10 months, questioning Obama’s leadership qualities,” he said.
But the death of bin Laden will not serve as a referendum on his chances in the 2012 election.
“A lot could happen before then,” said West.
