Michael Shear (NYT): In a speech almost 18 months before he assumed the presidency, Barack Obama issued a blunt warning to President Pervez Musharaff of Pakistan: “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”
The line was eerily prescient, as it turned out. In his late-night statement on Sunday announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, Mr. Obama said that the United States had acted inside Pakistan to capture or kill the Al Qaeda leader on just that kind of actionable intelligence.
…But in the middle of 2007, when Mr. Obama gave the speech it instantly provided his Democratic rivals an opportunity, which they seized aggressively … The criticism was part of an effort by Mr. Obama’s rivals to cast the young senator as naïve and inexperienced when it came to national security and foreign policy. Months later, Mrs. Clinton ran a hard-hitting campaign ad that asked whether people would feel comfortable with Mr. Obama in the White House when the phone rings at 3 a.m.
Senator John McCain picked up the criticism. On several occasions, Mr. McCain paraphrased Mr. Obama incorrectly, saying that the Democrat had promised to bomb Pakistan. “Will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan?” Mr. McCain asked during his victory speech in the Wisconsin Republican primary in February 2008.
…Now, however, it may be more difficult for the Republicans to make that case stick. Not only did Mr. Obama achieve what his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, fail to accomplish for nearly seven years, but he did so by following his own advice from long before he was in office.
In a statement late Sunday night, Mr. McCain praised the man he once called “confused” and “inexperienced.”
Full article here
The Obama Diary 
Going through the news channels and there was one shot of a crowd outside of G Dubya the texas dummys place. Some had signs like “thank you president Bush”. I was like WTF did he have to do with it you clowns? Other than not getting him in Tora Bora when he had the chance. And fucking up everything else including going into Iraq just because.
Well Fred, there is nothing new about this. If President Obama had said or done half what Bush did, he would have been crucified. Life is not fair but there are far more of us who know the truth.
Let Bush have his credit, the good thing about it is Bush can’t run for President again. I give Bush credit he have not been out there bashing the President like Cheney. He have remain quiet. But I think far more people thank this President for doing an excellent job. I know I do.
Why does the author not refer to the President as President Obama?
Hi Lexusv, it seems to be the NYT’s ‘house style’ to refer to Presidents as ‘Mr —-‘, although they usually refer to them initially as ‘President —-‘, before using Mr in the rest of their articles.