MONDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* POTUS: “‘The world is safer,’ Mr. Obama said as he appeared at a White House ceremony bestowing the Medal of Honor to two soldiers killed in the Korean War. ‘It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden.’”
* Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton made brief remarks this morning: “Our message to the Taliban remains the same, but today, it may have even greater resonance: You cannot wait us out. You cannot defeat us. But you can make the choice to abandon al Qaeda and participate in a peaceful political process…. Let us remind ourselves: This is America. We rise to the challenge, we persevere, and we get the job done.”
* This is a pretty great shot taken in the Situation Room yesterday.
* The woman who was killed in yesterday’s raid was apparently a wife to bin Laden, whom he used as a shield to try to protect himself.
* ABC News appears to be the first major news organization to have video footage of the compound where bin Laden was killed. The footage was taken after the raid.
* Like many Republicans today, Dick Cheney suggested Bush-era torture may have produced information that ultimately led to yesterday’s developments. There’s ample reason to be skeptical of this claim.
* A new conspiracy-theory cottage industry is born: “the deathers.”
* In Libya on Saturday night: “The government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi said he survived an airstrike in Tripoli late Saturday night that killed one of his sons and three grandchildren, in the sharpest intensification yet of the NATO air campaign intended to pressure the Libyan leader from power.”
* The recovery of American auto manufacturers: “For the first time in nearly seven years, Detroit’s car companies are all making money. Chrysler, the last of the three to return to profitability, said Monday it made a $116 million net profit in the first quarter on revenue of $13.1 billion. The company, which emerged from bankruptcy protection a little less than two years ago, hadn’t reported a net profit since 2006.”
* Presidents’ favorite community college: “Miami Dade College is apparently the number one destination for Florida poor people, high school dropouts, and, well, U.S. presidents.”
* On a related note, even when the economy is good, dropping out of high school is nearly always a spectacularly bad idea.
* And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was asked to reflect on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) crediting Bush’s “vigilance” for contributing to yesterday’s success. “For Eric Cantor to phrase it that way, to say [President Obama] followed the vigilance of President Bush is a degree of key partisanship that exceeded what I even expected from Cantor,” Frank said. “That’s just sad.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
