With their conspiracy theories about the Benghazi affair failing to rile up anyone who didn’t already think President Obama is a Muslim Communist from Kenya, the geniuses at Breitbart.com have decided that the real problem is that the administration isn’t sufficiently remorseful about the deaths of four Americans.
To wit:
It’s disgusting to write-off the complete and total failure in Benghazi as nothing more than “someone in the federal government screwing up,” it’s even more enraging to do so in such a casual and flip way that is meant to engender laughter.Four Americans are dead. They died while they fought off al-Qaeda terrorists whom President Obama assured us were “on the run” thanks to his leadership. They died waiting for help that never came.
The Breitbart.com author includes a video of the “60 Minutes” interview in which Obama apparently cracks a bad joke, fails to accept any responsibility, and vows to continue killing American diplomats … all in the span of 56 seconds.
Except that the video that accompanies the Breitbart.com piece edits out all of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks, as well as the beginning and the end of Obama’s remarks.
Here’s the Breitbart transcript of the interview:
You know, I remember Bob Gates, you know, first thing he said to me, I think maybe first week or two that I was there and we were meeting in the Oval Office and he, obviously, been through seven presidents or something. And he says, “Mr. President, one thing I can guarantee you is that at this moment, somewhere, somehow, somebody in the federal government is screwing up.” (Laughter)
Here’s the actual transcript from the interview:
Steve Kroft: You said during the hearings, I mean, you’ve accepted responsibility. You’ve accepted the very critical findings of Admiral Mullen and Ambassador Pickering.As the New York Times put it, you accepted responsibility, but not blame. Do you feel guilty in any way, in— at a personal level? Do you blame yourself that you didn’t know or that you should have known?
Secretary Clinton: Well, Steve, obviously, I deeply regret what happened, as I’ve said many times. I knew Chris Stevens. I sent him there originally. It was a great personal loss to lose him and three other brave Americans. But I also have looked back and tried to figure out what we could do so that nobody, insofar is possible, would be in this position again. And as the Accountability Review Board pointed out, we did fix responsibility appropriately. And we’re taking steps to implement that. But we also live in a dangerous world. And, you know, the people I’m proud to serve and work with in our diplomatic and development personnel ranks, they know it’s a dangerous and risky world. We just have to do everything we can to try to make it as secure as possible for them.
President Obama: I think, you know, one of the things that humbles you as president, I’m sure Hillary feels the same way as secretary of state, is that you realize that all you can do every single day is to figure out a direction, make sure that you are working as hard as you can to put people in place where they can succeed, ask the right questions, shape the right strategy. But it’s going to be a team that both succeeds and fails. And it’s a process of constant improvement, because the world is big and it is chaotic. You know, I remember Bob Gates, you know, first thing he said to me, I think maybe first week or two that I was there and we were meeting in the Oval Office and he, obviously, been through seven presidents or something. And he says, “Mr. President, one thing I can guarantee you is that at this moment, somewhere, somehow, somebody in the federal government is screwing up.” And, you know you’re— and so part of what you’re trying to do is to constantly improve systems and accountability and transparency to minimize those mistakes and ensure success. It is a dangerous world. And that’s part of the reason why we have to continue to get better.
My conservative friends tell me that “there’s always a part they cut out” and that the parts that were cut don’t do anything to change the tone of the remarks that Obama made during the interview.
So … you tell me: Did the “journalists” over at Breitbart.com get it right?
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