I know: Friday was my last day with the Guardian. But I haven't started my new gig yet, and if an event like this doesn't bring a journalist out of temporary retirement, then he better be checked for a pulse. So I huddled with Matt Seaton, and we agreed that a few hundred words on how the killing of Osama bin Laden will impact Barack Obama's political fortunes were in order.

First, the obvious: Obama is certainly a stronger president today than he was two days ago. I watched the ceremony today in which he bestowed posthumous medals of honor on two US servicemen who fought in the Korean war. The tributes to these two men, both of whom sacrificed their lives to save their men, would have been sincere and moving in any case.