Obama Enters Political Fray on Death of bin Laden

'Look at people's previous statements,' says president
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2012 6:37 PM CDT
Obama Enters Political Fray on Death of bin Laden
President Barack Obama adjusts his ear piece during his joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Monday, April 30, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Obama today personally entered the fray over the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, taking a verbal shot at Mitt Romney without mentioning the candidate's name, AFP reports. "I just recommend that everybody take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into Pakistan and take out bin Laden," Obama said at a White House press conference. "I assume people meant what they said when they said it."

Obama also denied gloating over bin Laden's death, saying, "I hardly think that you've seen any excessive celebration taking place here." (No mention of his using it in a recent campaign ad.) Romney, asked today whether he would have killed the al-Qaeda leader, quipped, "Of course, even Jimmy Carter would have given that order." A Romney campaign spokeswoman hit back harder, saying Obama had stooped to "cheap political ploy" that twisted Romney's "strong policies on the war on terror." (In fact, Obama himself once slammed Hillary Clinton for invoking bin Laden in a campaign ad.)

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