Through The Seal Team Helmet Cam Darkly

David Corn argues that the President put his re-election and arguably a lot more on the line making the final call to get bin Laden, wondering about the consequences if Sunday's operation failed and stating then that Obama's strength of character showed through as a decisive leader.  Republicans would have excoriated him and the Jimmy Carter comparison would have become an indelible mark against him, they would gleefully have torn him to shreds at every opportunity.

But that didn't happen.

A cautious president overly guided by political concerns would have been reluctant to ride into such a cost-benefit equation. Yet Obama signed the order for the mission on Friday—and then proceeded with his schedule, which included trips to Alabama (to meet with Americans who survived tornadoes) Cape Canaveral (for a shuttle launch that was scrubbed) and Miami (for an commencement address), as well as the White House Correspondents' Association shindig, and a Sunday morning game of golf. In retrospect, his joke about Donald Trump's big decisions—whom to fire—is even sharper than it appeared Saturday night. (I spoke with Obama at a small reception minutes before the dinner began; there was no tell.)

It must have been a nerve-wracking series of days—even for such a cool customer. "It was probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of time, I think, in the lives of the people who were assembled here yesterday," Brennan said. But the episode demonstrates that this president, who is often accused (on the left) of wimping out of political fights and (on the right) of too often wringing his hands, is willing to act decisively and take political chances. Not in every instance. But for certain stakes at certain times. (Brennan noted that there had been a vigorous debate within the administration over whether to proceed with the operation—why not bomb instead?—prior to Obama giving the green light to the higher-risk option.)

The anti-Obama loudmouths who claim that he's not leadership material or that he isn't sufficiently concerned about threats to the United States (or that he's a secret, Kenyan-born Muslim socialist who wants to destroy the United States in order to gain dictatorial powers) are going to have a tough time selling that swill after this. But they will probably find a pivot point in the future and return to throwing red herrings at the commander in chief. Meanwhile, the president, who once earned the nickname "No-Drama Obama," showed he was willing to put his own future on the line for a high-risk action that he deemed necessary for the good of the nation. And that line was quite a thin one.

Obama made that call, knowing full well that failure here would have ended him.  He still made the call and trusted his intel and his operators.  Corn is correct:  Obama showed decisive leadership here.  Would President McCain, Palin, Trump, Romney, etc. have done the same?

Can we put the "He doesn't have the balls to make the calls!" crap to rest now?  Because he arguably made one of the biggest calls in recent political history, and he nailed it.  To everyone who says that Obama deserves none of the credit, try making a decision of that magnitude.