Who would have thought the light-skinned brother who preached about hope and change had the chutzpah to execute the most daring military operation of our time? From the moment Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the President of the USA, he was berated for not being Black enough, not old enough, and definitely not experienced enough to take the 3am call. Fast forward to May 1st 2011. President Barack Obama walked purposefully to the presidential podium to announce that America’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, had been killed. If the announcement was shocking, the details that emerged were simply mind-blowing. 

Acting on the directives of the Commander-in-Chief, an elite Navy Seals group used infrared suppressant helos to breach Pakistani airspace. They descended on a compound in the city of Abottabad and shot the bejesus out of America’s anti-christ, Osama Bin Laden. Had I seen this plot unfold in a movie, I would have dismissed it as Hollywood hype about American prowess. But there was no hype about the steel resolve in President Obama’s eyes as he explained that airstrikes on the high-walled compound would have obliterated any trace of Bin Laden, so he opted for a riskier yet more deliberate execution.

When you consider the fact that this decision was based on circumstantial evidence formed against the backdrop of disastrous outcomes of Black Hawk Down (Somalia 1994) and Desert One (Iran 1980), Obama virtually put his presidency on the line to take Bin Laden out! That takes gall. I realize now that he is more calculating than the sacchrine smile lets on. It is this little known trait of Barack Obama which explains how he has managed to secure a historic nuclear arms deal with Russia and pass healthcare reform. Ironically, these accomplishments are met with fire branding critique. Republicans call him a Socialist. Democrats accuse him not doing enough. Wall street insists that he is anti business and Main street accuses him of kowtowing to the fat cats. Truthfully, the consensus was that 3 years after his ‘Si se peude’ campaign, Obama had watered down his ‘change’ mantra with one compromise after another.

Post May 1st however, his rising approval ratings is a sign that America is beginning to see Obama in a whole new light. He is no longer the light-skinned brother with the dazzling smile. He is the man who silenced Donald Tramp, Matt Damon, and Osama Bin Laden in one weekend. He is the President of the United States and he knows what he is doing. Don’t get it twisted.