If this *situation* keeps going on its present path, the eventual result of this rather minor event could end up damaging the President a lot more than people here acknowledge (or are willing to acknowledge)
lol, this is going to end either one of two ways: either the rescue attempt is successful and the captain survives, or the rescue attempt is unsuccessful and he dies. I doubt the Navy is going to take the risk and lets them go ashore. The pirates themselves are basically dead right now, unless they choose to surrender the U.S. Navy.
If the captain dies, Obama declares him to be a hero, holds the usual ceremonies, and appears "tough" by ordering the Navy to engage in aggressive operations against piracy. If the captain survives, he's given a hero's welcome home, they stage the usual photo-ops, and maybe they engage in the made-for-TV war against the pirates. Either way, I don't really see how this affects Obama all that much; this isn't Tehran in 1979 or Lebanon in 1986.
