President Kept "Poker Face" Before bin Laden Raid
MIAMI (CBS4) - When President Barack Obama left the White House early Friday morning with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, he smiled and waved to a small group of people on the lawn. Nothing would indicate that he had just given the green light to the Sunday raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Later Friday the president walked the streets of tornado-ravaged Tuscaloosa, AL, hugging victims of the storms that destroyed hundreds of homes and left scores dead. A great distraction might have been weighing on Obama's mind, but it did not show
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Obama went to Florida and visited with wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, whose husband was to have crewed the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission was scrubbed. Nothing in Obama's demeanor suggested the risky mission that was to come Sunday.
That night, the president moved on to Miami, addressing graduates of Miami Dade College. His remarks focused on the graduates' futures, and there was no indication of the dangerous operation that the president knew would unfold Sunday.
"I think that even his worst critics would admit that the president is one cool cat, a cool customer," said Fernand Amandi on Tuesday. Amandi, with the political consulting firm, Bendixen and Amandi, told CBS4's Gary Nelson the successful bin Laden raid was a triumph for Obama.
"I think by any account this is a tremendous victory, not only for him and his presidency, but for the country at large. Osama bin Laden, for the last ten years, has been public enemy number one in the United States and the world."
Saturday night the president put on a tux and cracked jokes at the annual White House Corespondents' dinner.
Obama did not flinch when comedian Seth Meyers delivered a joke that bin Laden was not in hiding, but hosting a nightly show on C-Span. The camera cut to the president laughing heartily, even as he knew of the serious and dangerous mission that was coming the next day.
In South Florida the president's demeanor drew plaudits.
"I think he showed a great poker face and great leadership," said Jennifer Hilton Montero as she fed a parking meter in Coral Gables.
Steve Smith, another Gables resident, described Obama as "intelligence personified."
Smith said if the Sunday mission to take out bin Laden had failed, "we would be having a different conversation right now." But Smith said Obama, knowing the potential for a good or bad outcome, kept a cool head throughout the weekend.
"I think that's a man who can multi-task, handle things well, and handle stress well," Smith said.
Reporters might have sensed something was up - but didn't - when the president cut his golf game at Andrews Air Force base short Sunday afternoon. Instead of walking to his residence when the motorcade reached the White House, video shows Obama walked instead to the executive offices, still wearing his spiked golf shoes. He was going to the final briefing before the raid in Pakistan.
Slideshow: Check Out President Obama's 'Poker Face'
White House photos show that the president was still dressed in the same golf attire as he gathered in the Situation Room and presided over one of the most momentous strokes of his presidency - and one of the best kept secrets of the decade.
President Obama will likely see a spike in his approval rating, one that politicos say could be fleeting, but that the president could seize on in an effort to strike bipartisan deals on key issues.
