A lot of political hay will be made about this, but here’s my take on it:

Obama didn’t dither, didn’t fret about how it would look, or worry about legal crap.  This sort of thing has saved bin Laden’s ass at least twice in the past.  Obama gave the go-ahead for a mission that was very risky.  It was a heavy political risk in international relations, a heavy political risk personally, and a heavy risk for American troops.

A wrong bit of intelligence, a screw up that nobody anticipated, and a great victory turns into another case of burning helicopters in the desert and Obama’s the Goat of the Year.  He had to know this.  And he still gave the order.

Whatever else you think of Obama, today he had the guts presidents are supposed to have.  And I don’t mind going on record with it.