Commentary | Outgoing Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton demonstrated that she has all the credentials to run for President in 2016. Clinton sat down with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren for a one on one interview and promptly blamed Bush for the lack of funds to secure the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Although there was little hope that Greta would ask Hillary any questions of substance in the interview or press her on her evasive answers, she did manage one general question about the attack on our consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the destruction of the facility and the death of Ambassador Stevens, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith.
Van Susteren lobbed a perfect softball pitch to Clinton with her question about Benghazi:
“Number one is in light of what’s happened, can Americans now feel safe or satisfied that we are moving to secure all our consulates and embassies for our diplomats overseas?
Instead of assuming any responsibility for being totally out of the loop on the constant requests for security for the Benghazi Consulate, Clinton responded like a true American leader: She blamed George Bush the Younger:
“Now, it’s not all a question of money. I am the first to say that. You know, you have to have the right people and the right job, making the right decisions. But money is a factor. And ever since the Bush administration, our requests for security monies from Congress have not been met. So you’ve had to make priority decisions. And it’s been difficult.”
Sadly, the American public are the true victims of Van Susteren’s utter unwillingness to press Hillary on the issues. She didn’t ask Clinton how she was able to remain unaware of more than six months of security requests from a consulate in a war zone. After Hillary echoed her employer, President Obama, and blamed Bush for the lack of funds, Greta let her off the hook and didn’t ask a single question about the wasteful spending by the State Department. Since the worshipful Van Susteren was completely unwilling to ask these questions, we will have to do the job for her.
Wolff Bachner : Secretary Clinton, you testified that you were not personally aware of the many complaints from Ambassador Stevens, and other State Department officials, about the lack of proper security at the Benghazi Consulate. Are you seriously making the claim that a consulate located in a nation that just experienced a violent revolution did not require extra security? A consulate in the most volatile region of the world was forced to plead for months for proper security and you didn’t have an inkling that they needed enhanced protection? Are you telling us that not one person in the State Department came to you and told you that Ambassador Stevens was deeply concerned about the possibility of a terrorist attack on the consulate? Are you telling us you were unaware that militant Islamists were trailing Ambassador Stevens for months and had openly published death threats against him on Facebook and other well known Jihadi websites? Websites that we certainly expect the State Department to monitor on a full time basis to better protect our diplomats and the nation.
Hillary Clinton : (still waiting for an answer)
Wolff Bachner : Secretary Clinton, you testified under oath and blamed the Bush Administration and Congress for not meeting your funding requests. Are you seriously telling the American people that when you establish a consulate in one of the most dangerous places on the planet, a country overrun by heavily armed Islamist militias, you do not have contingency funds to provide proper security? Are you actually saying that the State Department, which allocated over one billion dollars to fight global warming, lacks the funds to protect our diplomats? If you lacked the funds to properly protect a consulate in a war zone, why did your budget planners allocate $100,000 to send three comedians on a tour of India and spend 85 million dollars on an Embassy we will never use? You spent almost six million dollars to preserve cultural sites in 100 foreign nations , but you lacked the funds to protect American diplomats in Libya.
Hillary Clinton : (still waiting for an answer)
The ability to “Blame Bush” seems to be an important trait for any Democrat who has the ambition to seek the highest office in the land. The ability to evade a direct answer on any and all questions is also high on the list of desirable qualities for America’s leaders. Hillary performed flawlessly in front of the Congress , and by doing so, she is now being touted as the front runner for 2016. Apparently waving your fists in the air while refusing to directly answer questions, and placing the blame on others, is a quality that many Americans appreciate in their Presidential candidates.
If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Candidate for President in 2016, we can only hope the voters remember this conversation between the Secretary of State and a United States Senator.
Sen. Ron Johnson: “A simple phone call to people in Benghazi would have established immediately that there was no protest. Why wasn’t that known?”
Hillary Clinton : (Shaking her fists in the air) “With all due respect, what difference at this point does it make?”