Over at MSNBC’s First Read, they have cleverly come up with a rewind to a point in the 2007-08 presidential campaign when Barack Obama was sharply criticized for saying that if Osama bin Laden was discovered in Pakistan, he would “take him out” — with or without the help of the Pakistani government.
 Here’s some of what First Read had to say:
“Ironically, Bin Laden’s death — in Pakistan — recalls one of Obama’s supposed ‘lowest’ moments during the ’08 presidential campaign, in Aug. 2007. In an Aug. 1 speech, per NBC’s John Bailey, Obama delivered these words: ‘If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and (Pakistan) President Musharraf will not act, we will.’
“At a debate two weeks later, Obama’s Democratic rivals used those remarks to paint Obama as either naïve or inexperienced.
“Said Hillary Clinton: ‘Pakistan is on a knife’s edge. It is easily, unfortunately, a target for the jihadists. And, therefore, you’ve got to be very careful about what it is you say with respect to Pakistan.’
“Said Chris Dodd: ‘The only person that separates us from a jihadist government in Pakistan with nuclear weapons is President Musharraf. And, therefore, I thought it was irresponsible to engage in that kind of a suggestion here. That’s dangerous. Words mean something in campaigns.’ And said John Edwards: ‘Musharraf is not a wonderful leader, but he provides some stability in Pakistan. And there is a great risk, if he’s overthrown, about a radical government taking over.’”
Of course, Musharraf is long gone, Obama is now president and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in Washington, especially Secretary of State Clinton, to suggest that Sunday’s raid should have been conducted in conjunction with the Pakistanis.
MSNBC points out that, during that 2007 debate, Obama offered a quip, followed by a sharp rebuttal:
“‘Well, you know, to prepare for this debate, I rode in the bumper cars at the (Iowa) state fair.’ “He went on to say, ‘If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and we’ve exhausted all other options, we should take him out before he plans to kill another 3,000 Americans. I think that’s common sense.'”
The conclusion reached by the First Read crew:
“Indeed, Bin Laden’s death is a tacit rebuke of all those who questioned Obama’s toughness on foreign policy and bats down the criticism from the right that Obama’s rhetoric is too soft (he doesn’t say ‘Global War on Terror!’). Obama supporters will say it proves it’s not tough talk that matters — but rather action.”