president obama

The Philly Daily News had the best cover today, I think

Unless you were hiding somewhere for the past 24 hours, you likely know that the United States got the most wanted man in the world last night when some Navy Seals went into Pakistan and took out Osama bin Laden.

Last night, while watching the Phillies and Mets battle it out on ESPN, I checked Twitter and saw a friend has posted the following tweet: “I’ll take “Presidential address at 10:30 on a Sunday night” for $100 under “Unsettling news crawls,” Alex.”

That made me scratch my head.

What in the name of holy hell would Obama be addressing the nation on a Sunday night for. Either we were going to war with someone or they finally got bin Laden.

The wait continued.

I switched back and forth from ESPN to MSNBC and they started making the connection to bin Laden and leaks and sources started to mention that it sounded like bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces.

I will say it’s times like this when I am sad I wasn’t a part of a newsroom anymore. It’s quite an adrenaline rush to watch all this unfold while on deadline. At the same time, it was nice to not have the stress and pressure and be able to sit back and watch history unfold.

This is obviously a major and historic moment in our country. The man behind 9/11 has been killed after being on the run for nearly 10 years. But, is it one of those “where were you moments?”

I discussed this online with a friend last night and I wasn’t sold. Seeing all the front pages today on Newseum made me wonder if maybe it will be. Maybe not so much for me, but for many it likely will be.

Generations are often defined by these moments in history.

JFK being assasinated.
The Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy
The Berlin Wall coming down
9/11

Those are just a few examples. I know where I was for the shuttle and 9/11. I don’t remember for the Berlin Wall. I wasn’t alive with the JFK situation.

Is bin Laden’s death one of those moments?

I remember when Saddam Hussein was hanged that many news outlets were deeming that a “where were you?” moment. Alas, I have no idea where I was when that happened. All I know is I remember it was an historic moment.

No matter if this is one of those moments you’ll always remember where you were or if you won’t, it’s a big historic moment we witnessed.

So I ask you, the readers, is this a “where were you?” moment?

Also, here’s a few cover pages from newspapers on this historic day.