Osama bin Laden Is Still Dead: Top Stories On The Attack

Osama bin Laden is still dead, and there is a lot of interesting things to read since the initial post here (which includes video and text of President Obamas statement).

Business Insider reports that President Obama watched the raid live via a helmet-cam.  The picture above shows Obama and others watching in the Situation Room.

The New York Times reports on the detective work which helped make this possible.  Remember when  George Bush mocked John Kerry for stressing the importance of intelligence and police work  (along with military action) in fighting terrorism?

Marc Ambinder reports on the secret team which carried out the attack.

WikLleaks claims documents show that Pakistan protected bin Laden. Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan, Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, called it “inconceivable” that Pakistan was not providing a “support system” for Osama bin Laden.

Wing nuts on Andrew Breitbart’s web site came up with new conspiracy theory that bin Laden is not dead. They have been labeled “deathers.” Joe Scarborough, who should know better, engages in wing nut thought claiming Obama’s base did not want bin Laden dead. Of course there are nuts on the left as well as the right, with Cindy Sheehan joining those who claim that bin Laden is not dead.

There are varying views as to how what degree the death of bin Laden will affect Obama politically.  While the election will still be more likely to be decided by the economy, this could be huge. A common conservative meme is that Obama is not up for the job. Comparing this action to how Bush botched his chance against bin Laden at Tora Bora shows what a competent president really looks like. It will also be quite hard for conservatives to get away with the claims that they could keep the country safer or that liberals are soft on terrorism.

Twitter has had a CNN moment with coverage of the attack. TechCrunch reports that this was a record evening on Twitter with 4000 tweets per second.  Here’s a story on the person who first reported news of the raid via Twitter. Keith Urbahn  is given credit for being  the first  to tweet having a reliable source that bin Laden was dead.

Google has already mapped out bin Laden’s hideout.

Donald Trump Cancels Appearance With David Letterman

Donald Trump gets really touchy when someone calls him racist after he makes racist statements. Now he is taking it out against David Letterman, canceling an appearance on his show. The New York Post reports:

In the latest round in the war between Donald Trump and a growing list of the heaviest hitters in show business, the real-estate mogul and “Celebrity Apprentice” host fired back at David Letterman over the late-night host’s on-air suggestion that Trump is a racist.

In a letter he sent to the gap-toothed comic on Friday, Trump canceled an appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman” and lambasted Dave for saying Trump’s prolonged attacks on President Obama had begun to “smack of racism.”

“I was disappointed to hear the statements you made about me last night on your show that I was a ‘racist,’ ” Trump wrote to Letterman. “In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth and there is nobody who is less of a racist than Donald Trump.”

If Donald Trump really had a chance at the nomination, he might consider that Dave showed John McCain that the road to the White House goes through him back in 2008.
This follows after Trump got upset about all the jokes about him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Quote of the Day

“What is with all the flames? Why does Allah have horns? Where are my 72 virgins?” –Osama bin Laden in Hell