On the June 26, 2011 airing of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie described the death of Osama bin Laden as a murder, placing himself squarely in the Fidel Castro/Hugo Chavez wing of the Republican Party. 

When host David Gregory asked Governor Christie his opinion on President Obama’s handling of Afghanistan, Christie replied: [Emphasis added]

“And I do think that we have achieved a lot of what we wanted to achieve in Afghanistan, especially after the murder of bin Laden. But he [Obama] knows a lot more about this than I do.  I'm not going to go down that road.”

On May 2, 2011, the evening that President Obama announced the news of bin Laden's death, Governor Christie released the following statement:

"I want to commend President Obama's Administration for its commitment and dedication to finally bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. As the former U.S. Attorney and now Governor of New Jersey, I speak for all the families of this state who have courageously endured the unspeakable and devastating consequences of terrorism. There is hardly a life that has gone untouched in New Jersey by the horrifying assault on American soil that took place on September 11th and today, after years of waiting, justice has finally been delivered. While our fight against terrorism continues, Osama bin Laden's reign of terror has come to an end, sending a clear signal that even in the face of immeasurable horror, democracy and freedom continue to prevail."

No mention of murder there.

Did somebody remind Governor Christie that the path to success in national GOP politics is not paved with Obama compliments?

Many people do believe that bin Laden’s death was a murder, but Republican governors with presidential aspirations don’t usually align themselves with Chavez and Castro.

Murder:  The crime of killing another person deliberately and not in self-defense or with any other extenuating circumstance recognized by law.

Christie, a former U.S. Attorney, obviously knows that murder is a legal definition of the circumstances and motives surrounding someone’s death.  The difference between saying that bin Laden was killed as opposed to murdered is not a matter of semantics and seasoned proscutors like Chris Christie know that.  First year law students know that. 

Does the blunt, straight-talking, no-nonsense Governor believe that President Obama, the military chain of command, and the members of the Navy Seal’s “Team Six” should be charged and tried for the crime of murder?  “You do the crime you do the time.”

If not, does he believe that Osama bin Laden was murdered but that nobody should be held accountable for the crime?  U.S. Attorneys aren’t known for that type of thinking.

Or is Governor Christie simply one of the members of the “Everything Obama Does Sucks Even If I Previously Supported It” club?  If Barack Obama found a cure for cancer would Governor Christie complain that Obama is killing jobs in the cancer research industry?

In this nonsensical GOP political world of hating President Obama  at all costs, it's apparently preferable to line up with Castro and Chavez rather than to say something even remotely positive about Barack Obama.

In any case should Governor Christie seek the White House, in either 2012 or 2016, he has certainly provided his potential rivals with a potent talking point.  By legal definition, Osama bin Laden may well have been murdered, but saying that out loud won’t win him any votes in Iowa.