No 72 Virgins For You, Osama bin Laden

No seventy-two virgins for you, Osama bin Laden. And, no acknowledgement of your leadership that brought about the announcement of bin Laden's death Sunday night, President George W. Bush.

President Obama made reference to the national unity felt as the nation came together after the attacks of 9/11/01. Too bad he couldn't muster some of that himself. In usual Obama fashion, there was no acknowledgement of President Bush's groundwork that led to the announcement he was able to make Sunday night. The only tiny bone tossed by Obama during the announcement, the only mention of his name, came when Obama said that both he and President Bush wanted to make it clear we are not at war with Islam.

Sadly predictable.

It was reported that intelligence gathered from a detainee a little more than four years ago that put the action into motion. That means the information was gathered as George W. Bush was still in office and that means Barack Obama was on the campaign trail berating Bush for allowing "torture" to be used in gathering information from detainees in the war on terror.

Barack Obama pledged to close GITMO as his first action as president and he fulfilled that pledge with an Executive Order just after he was sworn in. He has been unable to actually do that and now knows it is easy to criticize and act so pious in the abstract on the campaign trail but difficult to lead. Plus, Obama was a part of those from the MoveOn.org wing of the Democratic party that was participating in the nasty "General Betrayus" campaign against General Petraeus.

It was reported that President Obama called former President Bush with the news of bin Laden's death. Why didn't he at least mention that at his announcement? Why couldn't he bring himself to simply say he spoke with the former president and personally gave him the news? This is another example of the pettiness and smallness of Obama's personal character. He is so secure in his ability to relentlessly demonize George W. Bush that he cannot even be honest about good news for the entire country.

Thanks to the steady leadership of George W. Bush in the war on terror, bin Laden is now dead. Some justice has been served. Part of his message released in a statement stated:

This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.

The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

We are grateful to the heroic efforts of a small group of Navy Seals who carried out this mission in Pakistan. It is fitting that former President Bush was supporting wounded warriors in the Big Bend area of Texas in a multi-day trail bike ride last week. I wish it wasn't so difficult to imagine Barack Obama doing the same when his time in office is up.