The Hill News

Any reelection bounce President Obama will pick up from the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi will be overshadowed by the troubled state of the economy, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said.

"When you have an economy this bad, it overshadows everything else," Kirk said Thursday on Chicago radio station WLS.

Earlier on Thursday, Gadhafi was killed during fighting in his hometown of Sirte, Libya.

While Democrats were quick to credit Obama for effectively removing Gadhafi from power, Republicans hailed the news of the dictator's death but were much more reserved when it came to discussing Obama's contribution.

"Ridding the world of the likes of Gadhafi is a good thing," Republican presidential hopeful and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said. "But this indecisive president had little to do with this triumph."

Similarly, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said a great deal of the credit for liberating the people of Libya went to the French and British, who were involved, alongside American forces, in the coalition effort to protect civilians from Gadhafi's forces.

"Well, first of all, today's not a day to be pointing fingers. I'm glad it's all working out. Ultimately it's about the freedom and liberty of the Libyan people. But let's give credit where credit's due, it's the French and the British that led on this fight and probably even led on the strike that led to his capture or to his death," Rubio said Thursday on Fox News.