Obama security record gives GOP few openings

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jtPHZ9zeE5o061w-mCi5Ux8pzQIQ?docId=02bf40978ccb4fff83e8cbfe8ab8f5f3

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press – 29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's not-so-secret counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia, the killing of Osama bin Laden and strong hints of a cyber war against Iran give Republicans few openings to challenge the commander in chief.

This aggressive national security policy has undercut the derisive label Republicans have successfully attached to Democrats in the past: the soft-on-defense Mommy Party. It has been one of the most effective election-year cudgels for the GOP. Just eight years ago, President George W. Bush capitalized on his tough response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Iraq's Saddam Hussein to win a second term. In a major assist to Bush's candidacy, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth used debunked claims to undermine Democratic rival John Kerry's decorated Vietnam War record and cast him as "unfit to serve."

In the past 3½ years, Obama has waged a secret campaign against al-Qaida in two countries — one on the Arab peninsula, the other on Africa's east coast. The White House officially acknowledged the lethal attacks in Yemen and Somalia in its semiannual report to Congress last Friday. Navy SEALs took out bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011 while armed drones have pursued al-Qaida terrorists within the country, degrading the terrorist group.

In public opinion polls, Obama gets high marks for his record on national security, a stark contrast to his dismal numbers on handling the nation's finances. An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in May found that 64 percent approved of Obama's handling of terrorism and 53 percent approved of the way he's managing the situation in Afghanistan. By contrast, less than half approved of his handling of the economy (46 percent), unemployment (48 percent) or gas prices (30 percent).