How will Gadhafi's demise affect the 2012 race?

[Joe Biden 2020]

With Col. Gadhafi basically reduced to a refugee and no longer in control of his own compound let alone his city, Tripoli, or his country, how will this affect President Obama in 2012?

Remember now, this is two major tyrants either killed or taken out of power within 4 months of each other.  His administration can take credit for the killing of Osama Bin Laden on May 1, 2011 and now his administration can take partial credit for the toppling of a violent regime in Col. Gadhafi in Libya.

Will he get a bigger and longer lasting bump from Gadhafi's demise since this is tyrant #2 he's deposed, or will he just get the normal short-lived inflation in the polling numbers, or will he not get any bump at all?

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Not at all, or even less.

[Seattle]

Short term, I am not sure, but I'd assume, a marginal bump at best. In the long term, I think it all depends on how things procede from here - does the Libyan state fall further into civil war, is there a worse dicatator that comes to power that is anti-american, etc.

If things procede relatively smoothly, and nothing too crazy happens Obama can use it to try and bolster his foreign policy..... but really, it will matter little when the economy is the first, second, third, and fourth issue.

[King]

Who?

[Politico]

It's the economy, smarty.

[Bull Moose Base]

Sunday was the big day when it was clear the Colonel was going down.  Two days later, Obama has his lowest ever job approval on Gallup.  Maybe America liked Gaddhafi.

[SteveRogers]

It certainly won't hurt him, but I don't think the American public has ever really been invested enough in the Libya situation for it to give him much of a bump. It bolsters Obama's foreign policy cred and makes it harder for Republicans to criticize him for wimpy foreign policy stances, etc. , but I don't think the Republican nominee was ever going to be attacking him much on foreign policy anyways.   

[J. J.]

First, Obama's policy was correct.  He basically acted in support of NATO which acted in support of the rebels.

Politically, because that was a supportive policy, he gets very little credit for it, domestically.

Second, it is not over.  Qaddafi and his sons are still out there with armed supporters.  The fighting continues.  There is a reasonable chance of guerrilla war. 

There is also the possibility of tribal war, with the participants all very well armed.  Think Mogadishu.

Unless Obama is stupid enough to send in combatant forces, it will not effect him directly.  However, the instability it presents an economic problem for Europe, which doesn't need any more economic problems.  The flow of oil may be further impaired.  That could further damage the world economy, and damage Obama, very indirectly.

The alternative was letting Qaddafi commit genocide in Benghazi, so ultimately it was a good decision.  The American voter, however, probably won't see the nuances.