Taking/Giving Credit

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During the last few weeks, we've seen ample examples of misapplied credit in politics. When gasoline breached $4/gallon under GW Bush, people cried for his head on a silver platter, but under BH Obama, he claims to have no involvement or responsibility for it. When the military captured Baghdad and Saddam Hussein, GW Bush was ridiculed for his "Mission Accomplished" banner. Last night, social media erupted with glowing praise for BH Obama after the military killed Osama bin Laden. Many things are unjustly ascribed to presidents for which they are not directly responsible, and some presidents take credit for things in which they were only cursarily involved.

Lest we forget, Obama has historically been reticent to give the kill order. When Navy SEALs had pirates who held American sailers captive from the Maersk Alabama in their sights, a LtCdr aboard the vessel gave the order to shoot. Obama was furious, ostensibly because he was concerned that it was right but more likely because then he couldn't take credit. I am quite frankly surprised he gave the order. It certainly never seemed like a huge priority before yesterday to make any headway in the hunt for Al Qaeda.

Obama likes to take credit for things he didn't do. Last week, he was all atwitter about the fact that domestic oil production is at its higher level ever. Just because it coincides with his presidency doesn't mean his policies are causative to the rise in production. If anything, he has done more to counter that than any previous president. Lest we forget the drilling moratorium, the reversal of GW Bush's authorization to go after Rocky Mountain shale oil, more stringent fuel standards, Cap n. Tax, and subsidies for wind and solar power. Obama isn't interested in more oil. He thinks we should drive less, and Harry Reid agrees.

At best, Obama is only cursarily involved in the things that have gone well since he took office. He is of course pure as the wind driven snow when it comes to inflation (despite Quantitative Easing I, II, and III), gas prices (despite refusal to lower gas taxes or increase drilling permits), job losses (despite Obamacare), and the housing slump (despite the fact that Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae continue to exist and have similar lending practices). Government is not the solution to our problem. Government IS the problem.

The military brought this to pass. Obama wasn't there. In fact, he was probably annoyed when they interrupted him to brief him because he had something more important to do like golf, fly to Hawaii, or drink beer with some cops from New England. Thank God he wasn't at the Royal Wedding or who knows what might not have happened. Obama hasn't done one thing to help the military; he wants to keep cutting their budget and then forces them to do more with less (which is kind of silly because he refuses to let the governor do the same thing with our state's educational budget). Maybe all our soldiers should ride bicycles to work or use environmentally friendly incindiary devices. All this, and they had to wait until the final hour to find out if they'd be paid on time. Obama supports the troops, he just refuses to pay them.

President Obama wants you beholden to him. He waits until the opportune moment when it's best for him. He wants to be able to take credit for this hoping it will get him reelected. Obama is coincidental to this, not causative, and hopefully Americans will have the same wonderfully short memory of presidential beneficience as they have in the past and forget his very minor contribution for which he took full credit. Give credit where credit's due- to the soldiers, who will be there long after Obama is gone.

Update 8:19
Apparently during the firefight, bin Laden used a woman as a human shield. Since when do they feel it appropriate and justifiable to determine the fate of other people particularly their women? The manner of her death shows just how thuggish these goons really are, that they would stoop to such a low rung to save their own hides. No matter what people in this country say about how we treat women, women in America are far better off than women in those parts of the world.

Update 9:19
Let's also keep in mind that Obama continually promised to bring the troops home and that he would capture bin Laden and bring him to justice. Neither of those has been fulfilled. In fact, the hunt for bin Laden was started by GW Bush, and Obama decided to continue that policy. Credit were credit's due? Also, thank God for the troops who stood face to face with that man. That takes some tenacity.

Update 9:34
"The man who did what Bush could not" as if Obama himself pulled the trigger. Let's keep in mind that he has not exactly been a good patron of this effort. He told this unit it couldn't cause a ruckas, tried to break it up, and held it back. I'm surprised they were allowed to shoot, but I would not be surprised at all to learn they shot without authorization.