THE POLITICAL/ELECTORAL IMPACT OF KILLING BIN LADEN
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It's called a "bounce" for a reason -- the president seems likely to see his standing improve almost immediately, but the bump in the polls seems likely to subside soon after. Making assumptions and predictions from this is generally a bad idea, especially if the election is not primarily about national security. In other words, will the OBL news set Obama's popularity on a new, semi-permanent trajectory? Probably not.
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But if we're laying odds on the president's re-election, the bin Laden news, I'd argue, bumps the likelihood up, at least a little. What I'm imagining is Obama and his supporters offering voters a list of accomplishments from his first term, and it's going to be a doozy: ended the Great Recession, health care reform, Wall Street reform, student loan reform, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal, New START, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the biggest overhaul of our food-safety laws in 70 years, new regulation of the credit card industry, new regulation of the tobacco industry, a national service bill, expanded stem-cell research, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, net neutrality, the most sweeping land-protection act in 15 years, health care for 9/11 rescue workers, and the confirmation of two Supreme Court justices.
Oh, and he killed Osama bin Laden.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_05/029237.php