# Deserve (Obama and re-election) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140 "2012-11-06T21:00:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/1 "2012-11-06T21:00:41Z")
Probably more an IMHO or MPSIMS thing, but since it’s about the election I put it in here. I’ve been sort of watching things about the election on CNN while I drive about today, and it’s hard for me to believe or understand how things have tightened up so much in the race. CNN says [here](http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/05/politics/inside-the-polls/index.html?hpt=hp_t2_6) that it’s nearly dead even, with very little if any advantage going towards Obama in the final push. How could this be?? I mean, yeah, the economy kind of sucks…no doubt about that…but a lot of that suckage was the results of factors that either happened in the previous administration or are beyond anyone in the US’s control (such as the situation in the EU or China). And look at the string of foreign policy successes Obama et al have on their side, with the largest being the big brass balls it took to send a SEAL team in to whack ObL. That alone, IMHO, should put Obama over the top. So…‘deserve’. I think Obama deserves a second term to follow through on his vision for the US. I’m a bit dismayed that it’s even possible he might not get it too. I think he’s done a lot of good, especially on the foreign policy side. To me, the jury is still out on the economic side of things, but I want to see what he does in a second term. Yeah, no meat in this OP…JMHO and feelings as we come down to the wire. I hope things go right for Obama and he manages to win this thing. Going to be a bit depressed tonight if he doesn’t, to be honest. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/2 "2012-11-06T21:05:02Z")
That CNN article you posted showing the race as nearly dead even cites national polling figures, but the national popular vote doesn’t count for anything. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/3 "2012-11-06T21:07:31Z")
You won’t be the only one depressed, **XT**. Sadly, as William Munny wisely noted, “deserves got nothing to do with it”. I’ve been preparing for a Romney win for weeks now, but hopefully my despondent drinking can instead be celebratory drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/4 "2012-11-06T21:20:55Z")
> [@XT](#): > > …with the largest being the big brass balls it took to send a SEAL team in to whack ObL. That alone, IMHO, should put Obama over the top. > ( That’s the largest? I don’t think that took exceptional balls at all; any President would have made the same decision. He gets no points from me for that. As far as deserving to get another 4 years to complete his vision, that’s not how it works. You don’t get 8 years, you get 4 years. If you can’t get people on board with your vision in 4, you’re probably not doing a very good job of either 1) getting your vision accomplished or 2) explaining your vision, and shouldn’t expect (or deserve) another 4. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/5 "2012-11-06T21:26:07Z")
He don’t deserve nuthin’ he can’t win at the ballot box. I’m happy to vote for the guy (well, mildly happy), but there’s no “deserves” in “election” in the US. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/6 "2012-11-06T21:32:26Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > That’s the largest? I don’t think that took exceptional balls at all; any President would have made the same decision. He gets no points from me for that. > > As far as deserving to get another 4 years to complete his vision, that’s not how it works. You don’t get 8 years, you get 4 years. If you can’t get people on board with your vision in 4, you’re probably not doing a very good job of either 1) getting your vision accomplished or 2) explaining your vision, and shouldn’t expect (or deserve) another 4. John McCain and Mitt Romney would NOT have made the same decision. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/7 "2012-11-06T21:37:50Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > John McCain and Mitt Romney would NOT have made the same decision. This is not even conjecture, they SPECIFICALLY said so. And the race is not even, it just serves the media to play it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/8 "2012-11-06T21:40:23Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > This is not even conjecture, they SPECIFICALLY said so. And the race is not even, it just serves the media to play it that way. This barely warrants a hand wave, but wave I shall. They were not sitting Presidents and it wasn’t their decision. ---
**Author:** ![LinusK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@LinusK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinusK)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/9 "2012-11-06T21:45:11Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > That’s the largest? I don’t think that took exceptional balls at all; any President would have made the same decision. He gets no points from me for that. > > As far as deserving to get another 4 years to complete his vision, that’s not how it works. You don’t get 8 years, you get 4 years. If you can’t get people on board with your vision in 4, you’re probably not doing a very good job of either 1) getting your vision accomplished or 2) explaining your vision, and shouldn’t expect (or deserve) another 4. He was told - something like - there’s a 60% chance he’s there. What do you want to do? What if Bin Laden hadn’t been there? What if somebody had gotten hurt, or killed? What if the Seal team didnt make it back? Would Republicans be saying, “it’s something anybody would do” then? It’s absolutely not something any president would have done. Most would not have. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/10 "2012-11-06T21:48:01Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > This barely warrants a hand wave, but wave I shall. They were not sitting Presidents and it wasn’t their decision. This is a pleasant fiction that flies in the face of what both have specifically said they would do given that exact situation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/11 "2012-11-06T21:49:09Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I don’t think that took exceptional balls at all You’re wrong, and the fact that the defense and military people involved with the decision have agreed it was a difficult and risky choice (and the only people contesting this are people who are running for Obama’s job or want to see him lose) ought to be a hint that it really was not an easy call: he sent the military into Pakistan without informing the Pakistani government because of intelligence that said there was a 50-50 or slightly better chance Bin Laden had been located. And Obama also made finding the guy a priority again - which his predecessor had not and his competitors might not have done. I think Obama has accomplished a lot and that he’s a far superior candidate, and that he’s also the only one who has a shot at putting the messes of the last few years in the rear view mirror. But I agree that this is electoral politics, and ultimately you deserve to win if you win. That’s how it works. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/12 "2012-11-06T21:51:10Z")
> [@LinusK](#): > > He was told - something like - there’s a 60% chance he’s there. What do you want to do? > > What if Bin Laden hadn’t been there? What if somebody had gotten hurt, or killed? What if the Seal team didnt make it back? Would Republicans be saying, “it’s something anybody would do” then? > > It’s absolutely not something any president would have done. Most would not have. What if somebody had gotten hurt? You mean, like the innocent people who get killed by drones, inside Pakistan, under Obama’s watch? If the Seal team didn’t didn’t make it back? What’s another few dozen bodies bleeding on the ground? At least they didn’t get shot by ‘policemen’ they were training. So what if there was a 60% chance. There was a hell of a lot more to lose if he didn’t say ‘go’ and we missed OBL. So we can go back and forth about this all night, but absolutely any president would have done it. To say otherwise is just trying to make Obama exceptional, which he is demostrably not. > [@Marley23](#): > > You’re wrong, and the fact that the defense and military people involved with the decision have agreed it was a difficult and risky choice (and the only people contesting this are people who are running for Obama’s job or want to see him lose) ought to be a hint that it really was not an easy call… So the Generals surrounding him, who depend on his approval to continue their careers, backed up his decision. Yeah, that settles the argument for me. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/13 "2012-11-06T21:55:05Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > If the Seal team didn’t didn’t make it back? What’s another few dozen bodies bleeding on the ground? Yeah, this is not a serious response. The deaths of a couple dozen Navy SEALs on a secret mission in Pakistan would have been a huge deal. As it was, the Pakistani government was very angry about the raid. If the SEALs had died the American public likely would’ve been extremely upset as well, and certainly more than a few people would have decided it made Obama an incompetent commander in chief. > [@](#): > > So what if there was a 60% chance. There was a hell of a lot more to lose if he didn’t say ‘go’ and we missed OBL. Nobody would have known about it. Not for years, anyway. > [@](#): > > So we can go back and forth about this all night, but absolutely any president would have done it. I think you mean that you can continue to make your argument without facts all night. 😉 > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > So the Generals surrounding him, who depend on his approval to continue their careers That’s not how that works. > [@](#): > > backed up his decision. Yeah, that settles the argument for me. You’re right- commentary from people like Petraeus and the Joint Chiefs can’t be trusted. What would they know about it? Counterfactual speculation on the Internet is the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/14 "2012-11-06T21:56:08Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > So the Generals surrounding him, who depend on his approval to continue their careers, backed up his decision. Yeah, that settles the argument for me. What they’re saying is that the operation itself was risky, not that they’re supporting his decision to go forward with it. I’m sure anyone supports it with 20/20 hindsight, but what the military officials who were involved in the decision making process are saying is that it was not a sure thing, involved an incredible amount of risk, both personal and political. Not every president would have chosen to stake his administration on a 40-60% likelihood that the intel they received was actionable and that the operation would be successful. ---
**Author:** ![LinusK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@LinusK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinusK)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/15 "2012-11-06T21:56:23Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > What if somebody had gotten hurt? You mean, like the innocent people who get killed by drones, inside Pakistan, under Obama’s watch? > > If the Seal team didn’t didn’t make it back? What’s another few dozen bodies bleeding on the ground? At least they didn’t get shot by ‘policemen’ they were training. > > So what if there was a 60% chance. There was a hell of a lot more to lose if he didn’t say ‘go’ and we missed OBL. > > So we can go back and forth about this all night, but absolutely any president would have done it. To say otherwise is just trying to make Obama exceptional, which he is demostrably not. > > So the Generals surrounding him, who depend on his approval to continue their careers, backed up his decision. Yeah, that settles the argument for me. Well, you’re just flat-out wrong. Not that it matters. It’s not like you’re going to change your mind. But I notice you didn’t answer the question. What would Republicans be saying - right now - had that mission failed? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/16 "2012-11-06T22:00:19Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > What they’re saying is that the operation itself was risky, not that they’re supporting his decision to go forward with it. I think **Sicks Ate** ’s point, absurd as it is, is that Obama is saying it was a tough and risky decision and he should be lauded for it (he’s not saying that, his supporters are) and the generals are backing him up by saying it was indeed a tough and risky decision. To **Sicks Ate** , this is clearly yes-manism, which is all the evidence you need to prove it was no more risky than deciding what to have for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/17 "2012-11-06T22:02:36Z")
> [@LinusK](#): > > Well, you’re just flat-out wrong. Not that it matters. It’s not like you’re going to change your mind. > > But I notice you didn’t answer the question. What would Republicans be saying - right now - had that mission failed? Of course I have no way of knowing, but I suspect (as you do) that it would have been politicized. I can think of a few particularly skewed and nasty arguments (Well he KNEW OBL probably wouldn’t be there, he just did it for points!), but personally the net effect on my opinion of the president probably wouldn’t have been much different. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Not every president would have chosen to stake his administration on a 40-60% likelihood that the intel they received was actionable and that the operation would be successful. And it’s my position that every president would. Of course there’s no way to test that theory, since Obama frikkin ruined the chance for everybody else. Taking something that Romney said in 2008 about not interfering in Pakistan to mean that he wouldn’t have given the ‘go’ order as acting president under same circumstances that Obama did is a non-argument. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/18 "2012-11-06T22:03:20Z")
> [@LinusK](#): > > Well, you’re just flat-out wrong. Not that it matters. It’s not like you’re going to change your mind. > > But I notice you didn’t answer the question. What would Republicans be saying - right now - had that mission failed? Benghazi^911 ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/19 "2012-11-06T22:03:23Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I think **Sicks Ate** ’s point, absurd as it is, is that Obama is saying it was a tough and risky decision and he should be lauded for it (he’s not saying that, his supporters are) and the generals are backing him up by saying it was indeed a tough and risky decision. > > To **Sicks Ate** , this is clearly yes-manism, which is all the evidence you need to prove it was no more risky than deciding what to have for breakfast. If that’s the case, then it’s stupid. We should therefore completely disregard anything anyone in the military says that is in line with what the President states as they are clearly playing a game of CYA. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140/20 "2012-11-06T22:08:59Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I think **Sicks Ate** ’s point, absurd as it is, is that Obama is saying it was a tough and risky decision and he should be lauded for it (he’s not saying that, his supporters are) and the generals are backing him up by saying it was indeed a tough and risky decision. **Sicks Ate** ’s point was that anybody would have authorized the Bin Laden raid, the public statements of other candidates and the commentary by other people who were involved about the nature of the decision be damned. The generals didn’t say “it was a tough and risky decision,” they confirmed they felt there was a high probably Bin Laden _wasn’t_ at the house. There is already a lot of published material about the raid and who made what argument for or against it before Obama gave the go-ahead. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deserve-obama-and-re-election/640140.md?page=2)