Bubba Won’t Let Hillary Get Thrown Under the Bus on Benghazi
Don’t wait, Bubba. Let’s have this discussion now:
With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new high, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck, according to author Ed Klein.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Klein said sources close to the Clintons tell him that Bill Clinton has assembled an informal legal team to discuss how the Secretary of State should deal with the issue of being blamed for not preventing the Benghazi terrorist attack last month.
What do you mean “if” Obama tries to blame her? That ship has sailed, my friend:
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters during a press conference Friday that responsibility for the consulate in Libya fell on the State Department, not the White House.
Let’s watch Hillary getting thrown under the bus. Video proof is always best, isn’t it?
(Nice, nice job by Ed Henry there, by the way — asking the tough questions, following up, and generally doing what much of Big Media won’t do.)
Security is a State Department issue. That’s what he says, repeatedly.
Yup. I’m seeing tire marks all over Hillary.
Go, Bubba, go.
Thanks to dana.
Ding.
Patterico (8b3905) — 10/13/2012 @ 1:39 pmI really dislike that Carnie character.
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 1:47 pmWhite House press secretary isn’t a job that is going to result in someone looking honest or respectable in any administration.
But Jay Carney manages to lower the standard of that job. He makes Ron Ziegler look honest, coherent and trustworthy.
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 1:48 pm…and even Ron Burgundy, SPQR.
I wonder after so long of the press corp being shut out and the ever increasing whoppers being told by the administration, if some of the journalists are so exasperated that they’re rediscovering their backbones and ethics…
It’s refreshing to see someone besides Tapper press Carney.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/13/2012 @ 1:56 pmObama inherited this mess from the State Department. He wants nothing more than to catch those responsible and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Heh
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:03 pmI thought both Tony Snow and Dana Perino did a great job. Carney fits in well as lackey for the Horse’s Ass Urkel. Would be justice if the camel’s dung hits the fan sooner rather than later. What can Choom do Tuesday at Hofstra other than deceive, inveigle and obfuscate? And still his loyal sycophants will idolize him? I want an Obamaphone.
calypso louis farrakhan (a80db9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:04 pmYou’ve got to agree, SPQR, that when the WH press secretary tries to change the subject to already-debunked OFA talking points it isn’t just lowering the standard. It’s changing the job description from press secretary to shameless prostitute.
The WH press secretary isn’t paid to work for he campaign. But there he is, trying to shift the focus to fictional House GOP budget cuts and Paul Ryan by name.
And they try to blame the Romney/Ryan campaign of politicizing this? They’ve politicized it from the start, trying to spin this as a reaction to a video, with multiple protestations that this had nothing to do with the administration, it’s policies, or that anyone could have foreseen this.
All false, all obviously false from the start, but completely in line with the “bin Laden’s dead and GM’s alive” campaign slogan’s.
Pointing out the self-serving and blatantly political narrative is, according to their projections, “politicizing” the shameful events they presided over.
Absolutely disgusting. Transparently so. I think this is why nobody’s buying it; that they see Obama’s fecklessness, dishonesty, and incompetence of a piece with the way he’s done whatever passes for governence in his unteachable juvenile imigination; and why no one inside the beltway except for his personal entourage of sycophantic mediocrities are going to fall on their sword for him.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:04 pmThe State Dept had its orders, though. See Krauthammer analysis: appearances mattered more (and have mattered more and will matter more) than defending US soil effectively.
SarahW (b0e533) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:06 pmDana–the whole Benghazi fiasco has been a bridge too far. Not just for most awake and aware and concerned American citizens– but for increasing numbers of the media too. The administration’s amateurish tap dancing routine, and its “guess in which hat the rabbit is today?” act for the last month is absolutely bizarre.
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:08 pmClean up on aisle 1600!
Colonel Haiku (dc1b32) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:08 pm“What did Mitt Romney know and when did he know it?”
– PaleoMedia
Colonel Haiku (dc1b32) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:10 pmOsama is dead and General Motors is alive, or something!!!!11ty!!!!!
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:13 pmFirst Carney said they had no actionable intelligence, then he said the intelligence is classified. Neat trick! And shameful.
It’s so obvious they’re hiding something…but what? Just the appearance of normalcy in Libya? Are they kidding? It would have made more sense to send in a platoon of Marines to keep the peace than just hoping nothing happened until after 11/6!
Patricia (e1d89d) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:14 pmSteve57, the job of press secretary is shameless prostitute.
The problem is that Jay Carney is a transvestite with his lipstick smeared across his face, his falsies askew, and the wig is falling off.
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:20 pm“With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new high, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan [ed. note: “Operation CarpetMunch”] for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck, according to author Ed Klein.”
Colonel Haiku (dc1b32) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:20 pmMickey Kaus asks,
Isn’t this the sort of juicy story Politico is supposed to be born cover? Yet they are asleep at the switch.
Maybe some are waking up…
What do you mean “if” Obama tries to blame her? That ship has sailed, my friend
Has is really sailed or is there another explanation??? Consider, Joe Biden doesn’t speak for the State Dept., he only speaks for himself and the president(who is very busy with very important matters). What they say isn’t really what they mean. We need to wait for the explanation of what was really meant…
Dana (292dcf) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:22 pmSarah, of course they have higher priorities then their jobs. Obama is the single point of failure. He sets the priorities, and he has only three; me, myself, and I.
The world is no more real or important to him than those styrofoam Greek columns he used as a backdrop for his 2008 coronation. Everything is just a backdrop, in front of which the narcissist in chief aggrandizes himself.
NYT: Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will
I don’t think that I’ve ever read of a President who had his top campaign strategist sit-in on national security briefings before, but that just helps illustrate what this guy’s priorities are.
He could give a rat’s a** about blowback that can get embassy personnel killed abroad.
Remember, his first concern when weighing whether or not to go ahead with the bin Laden raid was to fret over what the spectacle of SEALs and SpecOps aviators getting killed and/or captured would do to his political aspirations.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:24 pmPreezy “gutsy call” is not looking so good on national security these days.
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:30 pmSome of them, yes.
Lara Logan (CBS) Accuses Government of Propagating ‘Major Lie’ About Terrorism
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:39 pmAs I’ve said before, criticizing Romney for “speaking out without the facts” is pretty funny when the administration now claims to have not had the facts for two or three weeks, yet spoke out loudly and often,
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:39 pmBy the way, how about that 35-year veteran State department security official, Charlene Lamb, who testified that the Benghazi consulate had all the security it needed.
Bet you she meets every last tire on the bus next week.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:45 pmWell, if the job is shameless prostitute then it’d be impossible for Carney to lower the standard for the job.
Sounds like some weren’t quite so shameless. I suppose it’s the difference between a $1000/night “escort” willing to work a hotel bar and meth-addled hooker willing to turn tricks in a dumpster behind a liquor store for $10 and some smokes.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:45 pmI see there are some Axelrod “fans” here and I know there are some Cardinals fans.
At 9:42PM EDT last night David Axelrod tweeted:
“At Nats game and, man, they came out of the gates like Joe Biden! 6-0 in the third!”
Heh. But of course at the very last minute the amazing visiting Cardinals came away with the win. Oops, Axelrod–MLB edition. Biden? Lost. Nats? Lost.
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:48 pmEspecially when that admin spin is a blatant admission they don’t know the difference between Egypt and Libya.
Or they think everyone else is so stupid they’ll never figure it out.
As I’ve said, what makes them such a clusterfarc is not just that they lie, but lie so badly.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:48 pmElissa, I hope somebody tweeted back that the Nats finished like Biden, too.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:49 pmWhite House press secretary isn’t a job that is going to result in someone looking honest or respectable in any administration.
I agree with the general obnoxiousness of Jay Carney, elissa and SPQR. He seems like the worst kind of smarmy and dishonest political hack. That’s why I was surprised to read a conservative journalist write that he was very highly regarded among his peers when he was a regular journalist (sorry, can’t remember which conservative it was or find the link). If that is generally true — that he was a likable fellow — then it goes to show either what an awful awful job it is being the WH Press Secretary, or how miserable it must be to have to daily defend the incompetence of this administration. It will be interesting to see what he does when he leaves the WH — whether he can return to regular journalism or whether he sticks in partisan politics (not that there is much difference). My guess is that he becomes a professor at some J-school.
JVW (f5695c) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:52 pmElissa – his bitter tears are oh so sweet.
Go Cards!
JD (43ce10) — 10/13/2012 @ 2:59 pmHillary offered a tepid defense of State yesterday.
The article mentions critics in Congress and on the campaign trail raising serious questions about the Obama administration’s handling of the attacks and the riots abroad but mentions nothing about Obama holding her responsible.
The media faces an interesting conundrum: who do the back, what do they brush under the rug, and who do they owe most?
Dana (292dcf) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:08 pmAnd where are the PUMAs this time around? They should have stood up and put Hillary forward for nomination again. It was fun watching the Dems fight in 2008.
But nooooooooooooooooo, Marxism must go first.
BeeKay (045e37) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:09 pmTerrible performance in debate without knowing it.
Campaign momentum with R+R.
Try to blame attack on American video- fail.
Try to scapegoat the Intel community, they don’t like it and have previous CIA and Homeland security heads out of the gate by next morning.
Tries to blame Hillary Clinton, wife of Bill, much loved and touted and the reason Obama had a slight momentary blip after the DNC.
They’re digging holes with some kind of super drill bit now that should be in use in ANWAR.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:13 pmThe PUMAs aren’t complete gluttons for punishment. They knew they’d be viewed as RAAAAcist! if they tried to unseat the One from within the party.
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:14 pmPolitico just hired the reporter who was fired for saying Romney wanted to throw parties while black people drown. I wouldnt consider them a legitimate source for anything other than how hard to cup Obama’s balls while giving him head.
Mr. Pink (25b629) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:45 pmObama is awful, of course, but by the same token why shouldn’t Hillary Clinton be under the microscope for her tenure as Secretary of State? We keep reading puff pieces about how amazing she has been, but what does she leave behind as her legacy: Russia? Iran? Afghanistan? Libya? Syria? Do we have better relations today with Israel than we did before Hillary? Do we have better relations with China? India? Pakistan? I’m all for holding Obama accountable for this Benghazi mess, but let’s not let Hillary Clinton slide just because her boss is so damn inept.
JVW (f5695c) — 10/13/2012 @ 3:52 pmJVW, I agree. Obama is going to get caught under the wheels when he does it, too.
He bought Chevy Volts for the Austrian embassy and denied Tripli/Benghazi more security, and she went along with it! If she gave a damn, she should have resigned.
Charlene Lamb didn’t make this decision on her own.
Patricia (e1d89d) — 10/13/2012 @ 4:33 pmBy the way, why are 10s of millions spent every year on securing the the London embassy and nothing on hot spots like Libya?
Presumably the Brits are capable and willing to keep Grosvenor Square safe and free of mortar fire. But I guess there are places that State Department security people would rather not be.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 10/13/2012 @ 4:46 pmA little off topic, but I’ve been pondering something for a while now. I think a lot of people had expectations that the left would mount an anti-Mormon campaign against Romney… I know I certainly did, but thought that they would wait until the final weeks to throw that scheiss against the wall. And then we had the events that transpired in Benghazi and Cairo. And – in a desperate attempt to deflect attention away from their incompetence and dereliction of duty – the administration chose to put the anti-Muslim video meme out there. And then sent Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton, Jay Carnie, even Don Barack Milhous 0bama, himself, lecture Americans and the world about tolerance for other faiths and – in particular – Islam and their “prophet Muhammad”.
Have they put themselves in a corner to where they won’t be able to unleash the Dogs of anti-Mormonism, as that would showcase their hypocrisy? Or can they depend on their surrogates in the media to do their dirty work?
Colonel Haiku (aa6da0) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:11 pmDoonesbury is willing, Colonel.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:23 pmThe last man President Obama can afford to urinate off is former President Clinton; count on some serious backtracking here.
The lovely Mrs Clinton ran the famous 3:00 AM phone call ad against Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries, and she was half-right: Mr Obama wasn’t the right person to be answering that phone call. Trouble is, neither was she.
The realistic Dana (f68855) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:40 pmwell, there you have it, DRJ. That guy stopped being funny in 1974, so there’s that.
Colonel Haiku (aa6da0) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:48 pmHave they put themselves in a corner to where they won’t be able to unleash the Dogs of anti-Mormonism, as that would showcase their hypocrisy?
Comment by Colonel Haiku — 10/13/2012 @ 5:11 pm
Colonel, when has the opportunity to showcase their hypocrisy been an impediment to them before?
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:51 pmI do not say that Sec. Clinton has no responsibility for things going badly, just that any role she has is minor compared to the one calling the shots.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 10/13/2012 @ 5:56 pmEven if she emerges from this unscathed, I find it hard to believe she would want/be able to run in 2016.
But then again, I don’t see a long line of credible Democrats eagerly awaiting a run in 2016 either, but but then again again, I could never believe that Kerry came as close as he did or that the one won.
hey Gary “Doonesbury” Trudeau… I’ll believe you’ve grown a pair of balls when I see you insulting Islam and not folks who would just shake your paw and wish you a good day after the insult.
Colonel Haiku (aa6da0) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:06 pmDRJ- your link also informs us of the “Million Muppet March” in Wash on Nov 3rd. I’m not sure if this is related to Occupy Sesame Street or not.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:06 pmpoint taken, MD.
Colonel Haiku (aa6da0) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:12 pmWhy hasn’t whoever denied the request for more security been fired? At least we haven’t heard that anyone has. If not then it reflects badly on both Obama and Clinton. I assume either one could order the person fired. I doubt that either believes the denial was really an inexcusable blunder. It’s the mindset that exists throughout today’s Democrat party of trying to be non-threatening to people who want to kill us.
Gerald A (f26857) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:15 pmAs for Bill, it speaks volumes that his only reaction is to try to prevent Hillary from being blamed.
Gerald A (f26857) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:17 pm_____________________________________________
I agree with the general obnoxiousness of Jay Carney… That’s why I was surprised to read a conservative journalist write that he was very highly regarded among his peers when he was a regular journalist… If that is generally true — that he was a likable fellow — then it goes to show either what an awful awful job it is being the WH Press Secretary
I recall Carney being one of the guest panelists on the McLaughlin Group several years ago and his coming off to me as a rather easygoing or affable liberal. By contrast, I don’t recall his displaying the sneer-faced reactions of another regular on that show, the ultra-liberal Eleanor Clift.
Mark (6d5e0d) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:47 pmInstapundit links to a new Obama ad about how no President had to face so many challenges …
What a whiney little Empty Suit(tm) Obama is.
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:54 pmColonel Haiku, Obama/Biden have never shown any reluctance to directly flash their hypocrisy.
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:56 pmNBC already had a big Mormon expose. It fell flat.
I’m still waiting for the “how can he govern with a sick wife” card to be played.
Don’t think they will sink that low?
Patricia (e1d89d) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:56 pmSink that low, Patricia? It might be a tiny elevation of their campaign. They’ve already attacked her spending on horses.
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 6:57 pmDoonesbury simply reflects the reactionary nature of the current left. It’s going to be poo-sling-palooza over the next three+ weeks. Thinking people, including those on the left still engaging on the issues, will need a poncho.
East Bay Jay (a5dac7) — 10/13/2012 @ 7:04 pmThe media will not go after obama or clinton.
mg (e0b08a) — 10/13/2012 @ 7:09 pmThey want to see America fail.
Keep reloading.
Bubba vs obama – the battle of the Doobie Brothers
EPWJ (4380b4) — 10/13/2012 @ 7:48 pmThere’s something deeply disconcerting about a government that is always more interested in protecting their electoral viability that the lives of Americans serving us all overseas. We need to know how this atrocious act of murder happened, punish those who are responsible and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Instead the Obama Administration has decided to engage in a circular firing squad of blame. it’s squalid, bespeaks of small minds and wreaks of desperation. I’m no fan of the Clintons, but don’t expect them to sit quietly to save The One by taking fire on this.
Bugg (642d2d) — 10/13/2012 @ 7:50 pmAs I was pointing out, earlier, it’s not so easy for her to extricate herself;
http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/?news=Statement-by-Secretary-Clinton-on-the-Attack-in-Benghazi
narciso (ee31f1) — 10/13/2012 @ 7:54 pmHillary doesn’t want to do anything that could hurt Obama before the election because it could his re-election chances and thereby hurt her future relationship with the Democratic base. This is especially true if Hillary thinks Obama will lose, because she needs to be seen as loyal to the end.
I assume Obama knows this so he feels free to blame Hillary now. He doesn’t have much to lose from blaming her now, and he has a lot to gain. But my guess is an all-out, probably dirty PR war between the Clintons and the Obamas could start after the election, especially if Romney wins.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/13/2012 @ 8:07 pmPretty good read here:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/obama-bites-the-hand-that-feeds-him.php
Colonel Haiku (8baeb6) — 10/13/2012 @ 8:15 pmKey ‘graphs… “Klein says that the Clintons are contemplating the option of Hillary resigning in the event Obama continues to make her the scapegoat. But this would be a very risky play. If she resigned before the election, Democrats would never forgive her for undermining Obama’s reelection chances in a fit of pique. If she resigned after the election, assuming an Obama victory, the president probably would happily accept it, and she would be out in the cold. That might not be a terrible place to be considering what a second Obama term likely would hold in store. However, Hillary would be leaving under a cloud.
Hillary’s leverage is at its peak now, when Bill is leading the Obama reelection charge and when a sudden resignation would represent a huge setback for Obama. The Clintons can try to use this leverage to halt White House efforts to scapegoat Hillary. Then, they can hope the issue blows over.
However, the Benghazi story isn’t likely to blow over. And after November 6, the Clintons can do nothing to avoid the scapegoating of Hillary by the Obama administration.”
Colonel Haiku (8baeb6) — 10/13/2012 @ 8:17 pmThese two Breitbartian back-to-back essays on the clueless, corrupt and incestuous media written by Erick Erickson need to be widely read and passed around. He’s going to piss off a lot of “journalists” with these!
http://www.redstate.com/2012/10/10/the-american-political-presss-psycho-moment/
http://www.redstate.com/2012/10/09/chucktodd-and-the-incest-conspiracy/
elissa (f29fe9) — 10/13/2012 @ 8:23 pmWhat is really amazing about this lie is that the truth was being reported as early as Sept 14, but it took foreign newspapers to do it.
See The Independent Sept 14 and again Sept 18.
More at my blog.
Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 10/13/2012 @ 8:29 pmI don’t think Hillary would suffer much if she did something that undermined Obama in the guise of acting from principle of some kind.
If Hillary wants a shot at 2016, although I think she doesn’t, then Obama must lose in 2012. There isn’t any chance of a Democrat gaining the White House after 8 years of the Empty Suit(tm).
SPQR (768505) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:02 pmHe can’t scuttle Hillary prior to the election. No how. No way.
JD (43ce10) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:17 pmPeople scuttle others for all sorts of reasons. For instance, did you hear what Steve Spurrier said about his quarterback after today’s South Carolina game against LSU?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:37 pmDoes this sound plausible?
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/10/unreal-obama-administration-didnt-reach-benghazi-for-17-days-because-they-were-waiting-on-visas-video/
narciso (ee31f1) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:41 pmIt’s amusing to see Billy Bentpecker getting all righteous now on behalf of Hillary. The time for gallantry was when Monica was flashing her thong, Einstein. What a tool.
norcal (15091b) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:42 pmJD, I don’t think he’ll necessarily have to because, somehow, the media will cover for Obama and Hillary!
I saw Soledad O’Brien the other day accusing some GOP Senator or Rep. of leveling a “serious charge” of “collusion” between the WH and DoS.
Got that? The WH and DoS aren’t supposed to be working together or coordinating statements. As if Hillary! isn’t a cabinet officer in Obama’s executive branch and they’re not supposed to be working together.
Of course, this is the same ditz who defended Clinton by claiming whatever a President does in the Oval office with a government intern is a “private matter.”
When most of the media is jealous of Lewinsky and wish they could walk a mile in her stained blue dress, thong, and kneepads they’re capable of both ignoring and saying anything.
But Obama is so thin-skinned and narcissistic I believe he’s capable of making this blow up in his face not matter how badly the media wants to drag him across the finish line. He may make them actually do their jobs that they so desperately don’t want to do.
Sometimes I think the media does, reluctantly, do it’s job. Almost like they’re conducting an intervention, trying to sit Obama down and get it through his head they can’t function as the Obama propagandists they aspire to be if he doesn’t keep his lies at least somewhat believable. They’re shameless prostitutes (which is why Carney isn’t ruining his chances to get another media job; he’s just being one of them as WH press secretary). But they aren’t miracle workers.
But the Barry is so full of himself and so needs to be seen as he sees himself he’s often his own worst enemy.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:48 pmDRJ – what did the ole ball coach say about young Mr Shaw?
JD (43ce10) — 10/13/2012 @ 9:57 pm60- thanks for the read.
mg (e0b08a) — 10/13/2012 @ 11:47 pm65- We don’t need no stinking visas, don’t you know who I am?
mg (e0b08a) — 10/13/2012 @ 11:53 pmHe can’t scuttle Hillary prior to the election. No how. No way.
Comment by JD — 10/13/2012 @ 9:17 pm
— And he won’t do it after the election, either . . . unless he loses.
Icy (7a4103) — 10/14/2012 @ 12:10 amI believe that this scapegoating of Hilary by the White House will infuriate the PUMAs. They were probably not too happy when Rosen savaged Ann Romney either. Looks like Obama could drive their vote away and very possibly to Romney. Recent polls show a shift in the female vote toward Romney, a sizable shift from a huge Obama lead to a narrow lead. If this holds up there is no way Obama can win. So I hope Obama keeps refusing to take any responsibility. In reviewing his record, he never takes any responsibility for bad outcomes to his policies, EVER, he only accepts Kudoes for achievements, ie GM and Osama. So I conclude there is no way his narcissism will let him acknowledge his part in the Benghazi debacle so he will absolutely throw Hilary and anyone else he feels like under the bus.
TexasMom2012 (cee89f) — 10/14/2012 @ 4:21 amI concur, Ed Henry was the kind of pitbull reporters are during GOP admins for once.
IGotBupkis, Legally Defined Cyberbully In All 57 States (8e2a3d) — 10/14/2012 @ 5:58 amAlong similar lines,
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/10/deliverance_with_better_clothes_and_haircuts.html
narciso (ee31f1) — 10/14/2012 @ 6:17 amR.I.P. Gary Collins
Icy (2ed015) — 10/14/2012 @ 6:37 amIcy wrote:
You have that backwards. If he wins, he’s done with running for office again, and he won’t need the Clintons; if he loses, he could, conceivably, run again in 2016, when he might need them.
It does not matter who wins the election: Hillary Clinton will not be Secretary of State by the end of 2013.
The realistic Dana (f68855) — 10/14/2012 @ 6:42 amIf he loses he WILL run again in 2016, but I don’t think I’m wrong. The only thing winning this time will do is prove to him that nobody truly needs to go under the bus on this one.
Icy (2ed015) — 10/14/2012 @ 8:06 am2016 will be Hillary’s last shot at the Presidency. She needs Obama to win in 2012 more than Obama needs Obama to win. If he loses, then Hillary will face both Obama in the primaries and then a successful incumbent President Romney in the 2016 general election. If Obama wins in 2012, there will be no incumbent running in 2016, and all of the ongoing economic troubles can be laid at both Bush’s and Obama’s feet, with the rallying cry being, “If only we had elected Hillary in 2008! She would have fixed the Bush disaster.”
So until the election is over, Obama can beat up on Hillary all he wants as long as he doesn’t fire her or damage her so badly she’ll never be electable (that would be horribly badly; time heals almost anything in politics).
Once the election is over, Hillary will resign. She will probably say she is doing it due to Obama’s unwillingness to let her run her Department on her own judgment, blaming Benghazi on White House staffers.
Roland (460e85) — 10/14/2012 @ 8:34 amHillary Clinton – as a force in American politics – is over.
Colonel Haiku (7efa05) — 10/14/2012 @ 8:44 amOn election day, 2016, Hillary will be 69 years old, the same age as Mitt; but he will be the incumbent, and I think we all know which one of them will be looking better . . .
Not saying definitively that she’s not going to run, but this is a day for bold predictions, so I’m predicting that it’s unlikely she will be the nominee.
Icy (2ed015) — 10/14/2012 @ 8:50 am______________________________________________
Yup. I’m seeing tire marks all over Hillary.
It must also be noted that Carney deflects blame by implying the mean ol’ stingy Republicans are responsible for the mess. That they’re too busy protecting the 1 percent and being skinflints on the budget, and thereby causing a perilous situation with US embassies worldwide.
Carney then also laughably points the finger of blame — presumably towards others — at the politicization of this controversy.
I sometimes wonder if I’m being too partisan or ideological in the way that I view certain situations and people, certainly when there is a big gray area, where there’s a lot of ambiguity. But the story of Benghazi is full of black and white. That’s why even if I admired Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and perceived their political history as being wonderful (or the antithesis of “goddamn America” and dodging sniper fire on airport tarmacs), I’d still be disgusted and irritated by them over this.
The emotion of ultra-liberalism defines those who remain in the tank for the current crowd in the White House.
Mark (6d5e0d) — 10/14/2012 @ 8:57 amWhere are the PUMAs? Their silence hung a noose around their chances.
BeeKay (045e37) — 10/14/2012 @ 9:06 ambarack soon find out
Colonel Haiku (7efa05) — 10/14/2012 @ 9:16 amthat teh unemployment line
starts right over there>>>>>>_____
R.I.P. Sen. Arlen Specter
Icy (2ed015) — 10/14/2012 @ 10:16 amDon’t go for the head fake! The designated scapegoat has already been selected, isolated, his fate foretold.
POTUS can’t take the heat and he can’t throw Hillary to the wolves either. Bill Clinton is too important to Obama’s reelection campaign to have an outraged husband with a vital constituency able to command national attention pointing fingers and telling tales. Obama can’t hang Benghazi around Hillary’s neck and he knows it.
No, someone else has to take the fall, and that someone is James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence. Joe Biden sealed Clapper’s fate in the VP debate: if the State Department had requests for additional security and the information never got to Obama and Biden the missing link is Clapper. It’s his job to coordinate intelligence information.
Clapper is ripe for the role, he’s already made a fool of himself so many times: Diane Sawyer’s interview on ABC when he didn’t know 12 terrorists had been arrested in Great Britain earlier that day; he told the Senate Armed Services Committee over the long term Gaddafi will prevail; and he told the House Intelligence Committee The term Muslim Brotherhood is an umbrella term for a variety of movements…largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam…but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally.
I don’t have a crystal ball and I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and right now it sure looks like James R. Clapper better get ready for a powerful storm headed his way fast.
ropelight (14ec8b) — 10/14/2012 @ 11:19 amPrecisely. Which is why this won’t fly. If you want to see devastating leeks and the highest profile whistle-blower Congress ever put in the national spotlight then try to make Clapper the fall guy.
The only way I could see it stand a snowflake’s chance in hell is if Clapper was offered a sweet enough deal to agree to fall on his sword. And even then I don’t see it working.
Seriously, he’s one of the few guys who could blow the lid entirely off this cover-up. That makes him a poor target.
He’s definitely not sharp when it comes to knowing much about the intel he’s supposed to know about, but then I’d bet that’s not how he built his little empire. I’m sure he’s a weasel, but weasels fight hard when cornered. He knows where the bodies are buried. It would be a mistake for Obama to just designate him the fall guy as if he’s just another one of his Chicago sycophants in his entourage.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/14/2012 @ 11:53 amLeaks. Not vegetables.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/14/2012 @ 11:53 am_________________________________________
The term Muslim Brotherhood is an umbrella term for a variety of movements…largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam
Yea, right, uh-huh. Anything you say, Mr. Clapper.
People like him are one of the reasons that the nonsense of political correctness has filtered down through the system, infecting the CIA, FBI and US military.
Mark (6d5e0d) — 10/14/2012 @ 12:03 pmFrom the more recent thread, Axelrod Throws State Department Under the Bus:
This is another reason why blaming Clapper won’t work. Because security decisions are an operational matter. Not an intelligence matter.
The DoS has it’s own intelligence organization; the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. It’s part of the national intelligence community, just like DIA or CIA. It exists to support the decision makers at State. And it’s clear that intel was flowing to and from it. After the admin’s cover was blown Hillary! was quoting from the August 2012 report about the deteriorating security situation in Libya that the National Counterterrism Center asked the Library of Congress to put together. It seems INR did its job. She had the intel needed to support her (or her department’s) decision making. It’s the decision makers who are being set up to take the hit.
The picture’s shaping up to look like the Obama admin doesn’t want to get into the gutter and wrestle with the pig that is the Inside-the-Beltway intel community. Because the WH likely won’t win, and they seem to know it. So other than getting them to agree to take some heat for some bogus “fog of war” reporting after the assault on the Benghazi consulate the blame for the lack of preparation needs to land elsewhere.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/14/2012 @ 12:07 pmYes, but at the time that’s what the Obama admin needed him to say in order to support their foregone conclusions. Reality didn’t match their ideology, so he distorted reality for them to fit.
This is probably another reason they won’t try to make him be the fall guy. They brought him into the fold and he’s played along. But he isn’t one of them. So (a) he’s been useful and may still prove useful and (b) as an entrenched bureaucratic insider and not a WH insider they’ve got to see him as something of a loose cannon and loose cannons are dangerous.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/14/2012 @ 12:12 pmThe fall guy has to be someone who stands between the Oval Office and Hillary’s State Department, and that means it has to be a high ranking intelligence official, someone with the status to intercept critical security information and to withhold it from Obama/Biden.
Other than Clapper, the only other viable candidate is WH National Security Advisor, Thomas E. Donilon
I discounted Donilon because he has long standing ties to both the Clinton and Obama Administrations. He served as Executive VP for Law and Policy at Fannie Mae as a registered lobbyist from 1999 through 2005. He served as Clinton’s Secretary of State Chief of Staff and as Assistant Secretary of State for public affairs.
Donilon was Agency Review Team Lead for the State Department in the Obama transition. Next, he was appointed Assistant National Security Director before he was elevated to NSA in October 2010.
Donilon’s brother Mike is Counselor to VP Joe Biden and Tom is married to Catherine M. Russell who is Chief of Staff to Jill Biden.
If you’re going to make assessments based on who knows where the bodies are buried then Tom Donilon has been around a lot longer and has been much closer to the Clintons and to Obama than Clapper.
ropelight (14ec8b) — 10/14/2012 @ 1:37 pmDo not ask for whom the bell claps.
ropelight (14ec8b) — 10/14/2012 @ 1:44 pmI think the fall guys are going to be Biden and Obama on Nov 6.
elissa (ad7deb) — 10/14/2012 @ 1:50 pmYes, elissa, you’re correct, ultimately Obama and Biden are going down. Their record demands it.
But, for now, all that matters is for Obama to keep Bill Clinton at his side and singing his praises till election day, and that won’t happen unless Obama makes sure Hillary doesn’t take the hit for Benghazi.
The clock is ticking, Bill has a big campaign appearance scheduled this week in Ohio. Given the closeness of the race and knowing the way Slick works, he’s already let Obama know that unless Hillary is in the clear by the time he takes center stage it’s going to be very difficult for him to stay on message and deliver the kind of enthusiastic support that helps win elections in battleground states.
ropelight (14ec8b) — 10/14/2012 @ 2:15 pmropelight, I don’t think the fall guy needs to be a higher up. A lower down will do. As far down as can plausibly sustain the hit.
Charlene Lamb, for instance. She’s the one who denied the security requests. If they can set her up, she’ll take the blame for making the decisions on her own & not forwarding the requests for more security, and that will insulate the ones above her.
We already know that she’s the one who denied the requests. Or passed along the denial, methinks. The regional security officer in Libya, Nordstrom, testified that Lamb wanted to keep their security footpring “artificially low.”
Which makes me suspect she was acting on instructions from higher-ups; political types who wished to put political considerations before security considerations.
I hope for her sake she’s archived her email.
Steve57 (c8ac21) — 10/14/2012 @ 3:58 pm