◼ BUCK STOPS WITH ME: HILLARY TAKES BLAME FOR BENGHAZI... - CNN via Drudge
"In the wake of an attack like this, in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion," Clinton said. "And I think it is absolutely fair to say that everyone had the same intelligence. Everyone who spoke tried to give the information that they had. As time has gone on, that information has changed. We've gotten more detail, but that's not surprising. That always happens."◼ Senators Insist Buck Must Stop with Obama - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard
She added, "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game."
"I know that we're very close to an election," Clinton said. "I want to just take a step back here and say from my own experience, we are at our best as Americans when we pull together. I've done that with Democratic presidents and Republican presidents."
Her remarks drew a quick response from three Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including ranking member John McCain.
"We have just learned that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has claimed full responsibility for any failure to secure our people and our Consulate in Benghazi prior to the attack of September 11, 2012. This is a laudable gesture, especially when the White House is trying to avoid any responsibility whatsoever," the senators say in a joint statement.◼ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton granted an interview with CNN live from underneath the bus, and it was one that the White House will welcome… at least for now: - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin
"However, we must remember that the events of September 11 were preceded by an escalating pattern of attacks this year in Benghazi, including a bomb that was thrown into our Consulate in April, another explosive device that was detonated outside of our Consulate in June, and an assassination attempt on the British Ambassador. If the President was truly not aware of this rising threat level in Benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team, whose responsibility it is to keep the President informed. But if the President was aware of these earlier attacks in Benghazi prior to the events of September 11, 2012, then he bears full responsibility for any security failures that occurred. The security of Americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the Commander-in-Chief. The buck stops there.
It’s worth mentioning that one of the topics at Tuesday’s Obama/Romney spar will be national security, so Hillary saying she wants to “avoid political gotcha” by absorbing responsibility for Benghazi the day before the debate doesn’t feel genuine no matter what the motive. But what about the administration’s evolving spin on this story does feel genuine?◼ HILLARY TRIES TO THROW HERSELF UNDER THE BENGHAZI BUS: Says She Was Responsible For Diplomats' Security - Doug Ross
Gee, you mean the Secretary of State is responsible for the State Department? Well, I'll be damned.◼ Obama Hides Behind Hillary’s Skirt - Larry Johnson/No Quarter
"Political gotcha"?
An Ambassador is dead and the administration trotted out a series of lies from the outset. And the key questions remain unanswered:
• Who ordered security removed from Ambassador Stevens when he and other personnel were requesting more security?
• Who made up the story about the video and the non-protest in Libya?
• And why were the false stories promoted for weeks on end?
Four Americans are dead and more than a month has elapsed during which the administration has lied, evaded and misdirected. Perhaps a few of these questions will be asked in in the remaining presidential debates. Dare to dream.
Talk about a spineless wimp. That is Barack Obama when it comes to Libya. Hillary Clinton tonight, while speaking in Peru, takes full responsibility for the failure to have the consulate in Benghazi properly secured and Ambassador Chris Stevens appropriately protected. And she’s right. She is at fault.
But having Hillary take the hit does not get Obama off the hook. She ultimately may have been responsible for the security failure in Libya, but she was not the one who sent Susan Rice out to lie to the American people. That was Barack Obama’s call. Here is the irony–when Obama was busy spiking the football for taking out Bin Laden he was quick to claim the credit for making the tough decision. He could not wait to get in front of the cameras and set in motion leaks that completely exposed a top secret US Navy Special Ops unit.
But while Ambassador Stevens’ corpse was still warm, what did Barack do?
He jetted off to Las Vegas to raise campaign cash. He had no time nor inclination to brief the American public on this epic fail on 9-11, 2012. His campaign was counting on doing a triumphant foreign policy march waving the body of Osama Bin Laden as a victory scalp. That meme turned to ashes with the shell of the burned out US Consulate and annex in Benghazi more than one month ago.
So, Hillary accepts responsibility? Fine. She should tender her resignation. She failed to do her job and four Americans are dead that should not have died. If she stays on the job, then we know this is just a cheap, political gesture with no substance. MORE at the link.
