Oh, my, this is priceless. From Peru, Hillary Clinton has "taken responsibility" for Benghazi. No doubt, on its face, the act would seem to be a heroic effort to take the heat off the President and Vice President as the election nears. But with the Clintons, nothing is ever as it seems. Keep in mind that:
She did this the night before a real make-or-break debate for the President;
By doing it she made Obama and Biden look small and cowardly for seeking to throw her under the bus, thereby elevating her stature while diminishing theirs;
She did nothing to reduce the pressure on the President and Veep to take responsibility -- in fact, she increased it;
She ensured Libya and her move would be a major topic at the must-win debate for Obama tomorrow night (eliminating any possibility that extensive discussion of foreign affairs and Benghazi would be deferred for the foreign policy debate);
She raised the question -- which now may be put to Obama -- of whether she should be fired. If she is asked, of course she may answer demurely that she serves at the pleasure of the President. In any case, he is now hamstrung; if he answers "yes," she should be fired, he infuriates a lot of Dems -- and potentially a lot of women, but if he answers "no," he risks seeming insufficiently upset about what happened to the independents;
She makes the best of a bad situation for herself. Of course she is responsible for what happened -- at least she salvages some respect for her leadership by at least being willing to admit it (denying it wouldn't help her at all anyway in 2016 if she chooses to run).
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Anyone who watched the Clintons throughout the '90's know that both of them are willing to evade accountability and responsibility to a virtually unbelievable degree if they perceive that doing so is to their political advantage. It wasn't that she was worn down. Hillary must have realized that by doing what she did, she at least takes some steps to salvage her own credibility -- while simultaneously heaving Obama and Biden under the bus they were aiming toward her.
Nicely played, no?
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