# Republican talking points if "Get ObL" had failed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260 "2011-05-09T12:24:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/1 "2011-05-09T12:24:36Z")
Let’s take for granted that the Republicans would be putting as much distance themselves and any failed military effort on Obama’s part, but can you write out some of their specific talking points criticizing his administration. For discussion’s sake, let’s assume 1. there were some mechanical failures, such as the helicopter that had to be destroyed 2. ObL was not found at the site–faulty intell 3. some SEALs died. Let’s also assume that Pakistan was irate at the invasion of their airspace, and all pissy about it. ---
**Author:** ![BigDadWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/2 "2011-05-09T13:44:24Z")
If the mission had failed spectacularly i.e. significant death and equipment destruction without killing or capturing Bin Laden along with strained relations with Pakistan, there would be no end of the right wing blame game against President Obama. I think the primary talking point would be that he rushed the mission in order to score political points and deflect further attention from the birther flap. There does seem to be a current talking point that Obama merely “approved the mission” and thus deserves minimal credit for its success. In truth he did make the hard decision and, since had it failed he would have received virtually 100% of the blame, deserves significant credit for the death of the most notorious terrorist of the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/3 "2011-05-09T14:01:28Z")
Considering that Joe Scarborough, not normally one of the wingiest nuts, said [said](http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/02/joe-scarborough-obamas-base-bin-laden/) > [@Some partisan jackwagon with a talk show](#): > > Here, you know, I think Republicans should stand up and certainly salute Barack Obama for making some — again, for making some very tough **choices that his own base did not want him to make**. That takes courage, that takes leadership, and we saw the results of that courage and leadership saying no to his own base yesterday.[…] > > [These are] decisions that he probably did not believe as a candidate he didn’t think he’d have to make… **Going against his own ideological leanings** to do what he believes he has to do. it wouldn’t take much imagination to deride his incompetence and diffidence instead of his courage, and just as casually slander his integrity and “his own base” in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/4 "2011-05-09T14:13:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Considering that Joe Scarborough, not normally one of the wingiest nuts, said I like that. It’s the equivalent of putting a temporary (R) next to his name. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/5 "2011-05-09T15:30:59Z")
They would have declared it was a failure due to bad information that was gotten through torture. They would have apologized. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/6 "2011-05-09T15:41:06Z")
> [@BigBadWolf](#): > > If the mission had failed spectacularly i.e. significant death and equipment destruction without killing or capturing Bin Laden along with strained relations with Pakistan, there would be no end of the right wing blame game against President Obama. I think the primary talking point would be that he rushed the mission in order to score political points and deflect further attention from the birther flap. He knew about the compound since last August, I would have thaght that a politically motivated person might have oerdered the strike in October or so. > [@](#): > > There does seem to be a current talking point that Obama merely “approved the mission” and thus deserves minimal credit for its success. In truth he did make the hard decision and, since had it failed he would have received virtually 100% of the blame, deserves significant credit for the death of the most notorious terrorist of the 21st century. Apparently the only thing Obama inherited from Bush that has had any lasting effect is the inevtiable discovery and capture/death of Osama bin laden. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/7 "2011-05-09T15:52:08Z")
I figure if the mission had been a bust, nobody would ever have heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/8 "2011-05-09T16:09:34Z")
Yep. Just another crashed helicopter or training accident. Lots of helicopters crash, soldiers get shot, or hit an IED, and it doesn’t make the news except as a statistic. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/9 "2011-05-09T16:14:38Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yep. Just another crashed helicopter or training accident. Lots of helicopters crash, soldiers get shot, or hit an IED, and it doesn’t make the news except as a statistic. :smack: Why didn’t Carter think of this? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/10 "2011-05-09T16:21:32Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > :smack: Why didn’t Carter think of this? :smack: Because it was, and still is, impossible to cover up an operation that big. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/11 "2011-05-09T16:41:36Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I figure if the mission had been a bust, nobody would ever have heard about it. I think SEALs right in the heart of Pakistan would a bit hard to cover up. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/12 "2011-05-09T16:45:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Considering that Joe Scarborough, not normally one of the wingiest nuts, said [said](http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/02/joe-scarborough-obamas-base-bin-laden/) > it wouldn’t take much imagination to deride his incompetence and diffidence instead of his courage, and just as casually slander his integrity and “his own base” in the process. Joe seems to forget that during the campaign Obama repeatedly said that he would send forces into Pakistan to run down terrorists - and McCain said that he would not. Not to mention the excellent drone work they have been doing. This part of Obama’s base is not shocked or surprised by this at all. Plus, I have this pleasant fantasy: Joe: Obama’s base is a bunch of pacifist pussies. Me: Oh yeah? How would you like this nice Hawaiian punch? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/13 "2011-05-09T18:32:39Z")
A delicate operation like this and the president thinks its more important to spend the weekend giving speeches at the Ivory Tower and ripping on Trump? Haven’t the Dems learned after Carter that they can’t pull off a delicate military operation? Invading a nuclear armed country is something even Bush wouldn’t have done. Yet further proof he’s as out of touch with America as he is with the military. The president acted on incomplete information and was wrong, just like Bush and Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/14 "2011-05-09T18:36:25Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > :smack: Why didn’t Carter think of this? :smack: Are you kidding? When asked if he cheated on his wife the man admitted to ‘lust in his heart’, a baller he is not. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/15 "2011-05-09T18:47:14Z")
If this mission had failed Republicans would have had a field day. Some Republicans are giving Obama the credit he deserves. Others are deprecating his achievement, saying that the Seals, and perhaps George W. Bush deserve the credit. It is difficult for me not to believe that those in the second category wish the mission had failed. The killing of Osama bin Laden separates Republicans who disapprove of Obama’s politics from those who hate him and want him to fail at everything. Those in the second category want the economy to get worse - as long as they’re all right - and gloat at every bit of evidence that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/16 "2011-05-09T19:06:31Z")
Impeachment hearings would already be going on in the House of Reps. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/17 "2011-05-09T19:54:53Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Impeachment hearings would already be going on in the House of Reps. I think that this would have a high probability of being true. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/18 "2011-05-10T02:47:23Z")
I’m not sure what sort of “debate” this is supposed to be. Unlike hypotheticals such as “What if the Union had not found Lee’s orders before Antietam?” or “What if the USS Enterprise had returned to Pearl Harbor on December 7 instead of December 8?” this thread seeks nothing more than random opinions about things that are at least two steps removed from reality. It might belong in The BBQ Pit, (since it seems to be little more than an opportunity to invent scenarios to bash Republicans), but I’ll cut it some slack and let it try to find its feet in IMHO. [/Moderating] ---
**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:** [May 10, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-talking-points-if-get-obl-had-failed/581260/19 "2011-05-10T13:19:40Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I think that this would have a high probability of being true. I think that it would have a low probability of being true.