OBL, BHO, and the Economy

The Orange County Register consistently has some good letters to the editor.

Here are a couple that give credit where it is due when it comes to killing Osama bin Laden.

Elena Conboy of Westminster wrote:

The wicked terrorist Osama bin Laden is finally dead. A world of gratitude to those wonderful, brave Navy SEALs for accomplishing the difficult but heroic task. All hail to President G.W. Bush for his great leadership in the war on terrorism, and thank you to President Barack Obama for continuing those policies. Stay the course.

Rich Walborn of Anaheim:

Congratulations to the military and the Navy SEAL Team Six for killing Osama bin Laden and to President Barack Obama for approving it. Now I can agree with at least one thing the president has done.

Claudia Hiatt of Huntington Beach had a good question:

Why did we give Osama bin Laden a proper Muslim burial when he was not a proper Muslim?

R. Marlena Bricker of Cypress says thanks, but...

However, how does bin Laden's death help me when gas prices go up weekly? How does bin Laden’s death help me when food I bought last week costs me more this week? How I can pay for my health care coverage since my company has increased the rates? How does bin Laden’s death help my neighbor who was out of work nearly two years and finally found a full-time job – with a 35 percent cut in pay? How does bin Laden’s death help my husband and I regain lost home equity – our retirement? How can we retire when what little savings we have earns almost no interest in the bank?

So, yes, I am proud that Osama bin Laden died from a couple of American bullets but I would prefer a president who is equally “gutsy” about solving our economic problems.

Here's the thing, though. The President is given the Constitutional authority to protect us through military means. This does help our economy, because our economy is damaged when terrorists carry out their evil attacks. The President does not have a Constitutional mandate to freeze prices, get people jobs in the private sector that pay them as much as they want, or to meddle with your housing situation. The best thing the President (and Congress, for that matter) can do for the economy, after providing us with military protection and protecting us from international or interstate crime, is to get out of the way.