Talking Loudly

During the second presidential debate on October 7, 2008, Barack Obama stated: "If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think we have to act and we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush Al Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority."

John McCain responded that his hero Teddy Roosevelt used to say talk softly but carry a big stick. "Senator Obama likes to talk loudly," said McCain.

As it turned out, President Obama also carried a big stick. The president did indeed make the hunt for bin Laden a national security priority, and the world's most wanted terrorist was killed by a U.S. special forces unit on May 2, 2011.