Reply #3: In my darker moments, I suspected that someone made a political calculation

[Kber]

that having bin Laden alive (and therefore still a scary presence in America's psyche) was more "valuable" than the temporary bump Bush would have gotten from doing what Obama finally did.

A view which may be proven by the temporary nature of Obama's bump in the polls, I predict.

The Bush admin governed by stagecraft, not based on what might actually be good policy.

Letting bin Laden stay "at large" fit perfectly with their narrative.

That's what I believe in my darker moments.

In my more charitable moments, I believe they were just terribly incompetent and swept bin Laden under the rug to hide their inability to do anything right.