Obama's Ground Zero visit: 5 takeaways

Four days after the bin Laden killing, the president won praise Thursday for a low-key wreath-laying ceremony at the World Trade Center site — but not everyone was supportive

President Obama made no big public speeches during his visit to the World Trade Center site on Thursday, choosing instead to meet with 9/11 victims' families in a quiet ceremony.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

On Thursday, President Obama made his first presidential visit to the most famous landmark of the Sept. 11 attacks — the site where the World Trade Centers once stood in downtown Manhattan. Marking the death of 9/11 ringleader Osama bin Laden, Obama silently laid a wreath at Ground Zero and met with family members of 9/11 victims. He rounded out his visit with lunch at a firehouse and a visit to a police station, both of which lost officers on 9/11. Here, five takeaways from Obama's much-dissected New York visit:

1. Obama finally de-politicized Ground Zero

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