The Obama campaign has rolled out what it appears will be its response to the revelations at yesterday’s House hearing on the Benghazi terrorist attack: it’s a big deal because Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are politicizing the issue. In doing so, I think they’ve effectively politicized the issue.
Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter told CNN:
The entire reason that this has become the political topic that it is, is because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. It’s a big part of their stump speech. And it’s reckless and irresponsible what they’re doing.
Some might argue that it’s reckless and irresponsible to ignore an embassy’s requests for enhanced security, to blame a highly-orchestrated terrorist attack on a spontaneous outbreak of violence elicited by a YouTube video, or to mislead the American people about the events that led to the deaths of four American citizens…but they’d obviously be wrong. Cutter’s appearance on CNN is below. On a lighter note, she refers to anchor Brooke Baldwin as “Ashley.”
UPDATE: The Romney campaign responds, “President Obama’s campaign today said that Libya is only an issue because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. They’re wrong. The reason it is an issue is because, for the first time since 1979, an American ambassador was assassinated and President Obama’s foreign policy strategy of ‘leading from behind’ is failing. This administration has continually misled the American public about what happened in Benghazi and, rather than be truthful about the sequence of events, has instead skirted responsibility and dodged questions. The American people deserve straight answers about this tragic event and a president who can provide leadership, not excuses.”