Sen. John McCain isn’t buying Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assertion that she is “fully responsible” for the security failures at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi prior to the deadly 9/11 terrorist attack. Appearing on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday, McCain said no matter what Clinton says, the “buck stops” with the president of the United States.
Clinton’s decision to take all the blame is part of a broader plan to protect President Barack Obama before the upcoming election, according to McCain.
The former Republican presidential nominee also said the Obama administration has been in “cover-up mode” ever since the fiery attack, which left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. The White House repeatedly blamed the attack on an anti-Muslim video even though intelligence suggested it was a terrorist attack as soon as 24 hours after the assault.
McCain wants to know what the president knew, when he knew it, and then what he did about it — all facts that the Obama administration has not been exactly forthcoming about.
“It’s either willful deception or a degree of incompetence and failure to understand fundamental facts on the ground. Either one of those is obviously totally unacceptable. There’s failures (by the administration) all over the Middle East,” McCain said.
Watch the clip via Fox News:
Featured image via AP
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Comments (67)
The-Monk
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:52pmAdd your comments
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CatB
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:09pmHI MONK .. here is my comment from below … not much to add .. these “feminists” who take the fall for men really tick me off … she attached herself to a man for power .. and let’s them walk all over her.
Hillary must just love taking cr*p for and from men … she let Bill walk all over her .. and LIED for him … and now the same thing with Obama … hey Hillary stop taking the fall for men .. this is NOT a woman who should be representing Americans against terrorists or anyone else especially since most of these people are MALE. She obviously is a doormat,
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The-Monk
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:39pmHi CatB,
I was sending in a tip to The Blaze and hit the post button by mistake. : (
Here’s my take on this;
This is like when all the students stick together when the teacher wants to know “who did it”.
“I did it”… “no, I did it”… “no, I did it” and the teacher never gets to the bottom of it.
Politicians acting like Children… next thing will be Holder and Janet (DHS) taking the blame.
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CatB
Oct. 16, 2012 at 6:03pmHi MONK .. you can still send tips? Mine won’t work since they added the action at the top .. have tried lots of things nothing makes it work yet .. If I have a tip I will post it and ask you to tip it … I have had a couple in the past few weeks and it wouldn’t work.
Cat
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AmericanEagle1392
Oct. 16, 2012 at 6:46pmNo, no, no, no! Wise up, John McCain. Harry Truman’s buck has been moved from the Oval Office to the State Department.
Since 2009, the buck STARTS with Obama.
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American Soldier (Separated)
Oct. 16, 2012 at 7:34pmI dont even think Bush got it this bad and I’d like to believe 9/11 was a bit worse than Libya incident. And it happened on our SOUL!
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h20sue
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:52pmI am not a Hillary supporter, however; The Commander In Chief, also known as Obummer, is responsible for anything that happens, whether it’s under Hillary, or any other dignatary. I think Obama has forgotten his responsibilities. He loves taking the bow for Bin Ladins’ death, but when it comes to one of Hillary’s friends, Chris, you could tell how shaken she was when the caskets arrives at Dover AFB. She has no business taking the responsibility for the deaths in Libya. She’s not the Fall Woman! Obama should be ashamed of himself, and those of us who know what’s going on in this country, are well away of Obummers lack of responsibilities. He’s a liberal idiot, and I wish he had trained for his debate, outside of Virginia. We didn’t want him here in the first place. Those people at the Democratic Headquarters acted like what they truly are…..”idiots!” Obama probably played several rounds of golf at Kings Mill Resort. We’ll see how ugly and obnoxious he was trained at the debate tonight. Whomever trained Biden, was a AH. He was disgusting and looked ignorant, grinning like a oppossum, and interrupting Paul Ryan 80+ times. I wanted to smack the white right off his face! I ended up thowing a pillow at the TV! I can only hope and pray Obama uses more professionalism then Biden. I doubt seriously he can top the sincerity and professionalism displayed by Mitt Romney. He doesn’t have the stones to pull it off, especially without a teleprompter!
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:26pmIf he cannot use a TeleprompTer, one wonders if he will use a skin colored, wireless, ear phone in order to get the answers.
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frogg
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:41pmHillary said that she was at fault 1 day before the 2nd. debate!!!! Wonder why?! Ha! Ha! Vote the BUMS out this November! Please! Pretty Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out http://www.rescueourconstitution.com/
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jimbo_from_suwanee
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:34pmMaybe if he had used language like this in Sarah Palin’s campaign, he would not have ruined it for her.
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bannedfromCNN
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:50pmSenator McCain – please stay out of this and let Hillary and Obama spin themselves into oblivion. Your time would be better spent “reaching across the aisle” to get a fiscal budget through the Senate.
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Zurich
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:33pmI used to like Senator Mc Cain, but his strange reactions to sensitive issues are quite strange. First he defended Huma Abedin the spy Muslim secretary of Hillary and now he is defending Hillary. If he is trying to play being a gentleman, this is absolutely the wrong moment! Women can be held accountable for what they do, and if they are betraying the Country there is no distinction between men and women. I really don’t know where Mc Cain is coming from. He also failed in 2008 when Mrs. Palin told him to go after Obama’s dubious “Founding Fathers Ayers and Co.”. There is time for peace and there is time for war and this guy just doesn’t get it. There is no room for softies like Mc Cain, not now!
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coyote1hell
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:28pmAmericans died..and O’bama Lied…and Lied..and Lied….and Lied…
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gyro
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:25pmHa BILL they are tossing your wife under the bus !!!!!!!!!!!
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:46pmThey tried…. The bus took one look at her ugly mug and quickly turned in the opposite direction.
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bannedfromCNN
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:51pmBill smiles…
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bannedfromCNN
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:52pmYou can hear Bill’s laughter all the way to Peru.
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The-Monk
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:20pmI can’t stand listening to Senator McRino…. (as a politician)
I think his brain and thinking processes were damaged as a POW.
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:45pmAgreed.
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Wool-Free Vision
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:13pmHi Monk!
I agree. I was debating on whether I should comment on this story or not, because I was worried that I might say something offensive about this man who deserves so much respect for what he did in his youth, but deserves so much disdain for what he has done to Conservatives as a lukewarm RiNO.
In my personal opinion, the man could do us all one more service to gain back my respect, and that is to retire and stay the hell away from anyone who might quote him in the press.
Get the hell out, John! Let an actual Conservative get in that seat of yours and do this country some actual good!
Well, there I go. That’s me being restrained.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:18pmIn January 2010, President Obama addressed the nation with an update on the security review of the attempted terrorist attack and outlined the reforms and corrective actions he ordered. The President said, “I have repeatedly made it clear — in public with the American people, and in private with my national security team — that I will hold my staff, our agencies and the people in them accountable when they fail to perform their responsibilities at the highest levels … Moreover, I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer. For ultimately, the buck stops with me. As President, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people. And when the system fails, it is my responsibility.”
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/10/16/Obama-It-Is-My-Responsibility-To-Protect-Our-People
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00100111
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:27pmBut he said that like two years ago. Surely he didn’t expect to actually have to live up to those expectations. It’s like when you tell someone “Hey, call me if you ever need anything.” You don’t really expect them to actually call you…right?
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bannedfromCNN
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:53pmThat’s not fair – holding Soetoro accountable for his statements…and, it’s racist.
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The-Monk
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:54pmHi Anonymous T. Irrelevant,
That was great!!!
I sent your post in to The Blaze. Hopefully they’ll update this story with it….
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The-Monk
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:12pmSent it to Glenn also….
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Rayblue
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:15pmMcCain’s really tellin’ ‘em now.
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Verceofreason
Oct. 16, 2012 at 6:17pmPaul Ryan wants to remove $200 to $300 MILLION
dollars for embassy security from the budget.
Check it out.
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Rayblue
Oct. 16, 2012 at 11:22pmThey ought to remove any embassy from terrorist countries anyway.
They hate any symbol of freedom and have proved it over and over.
Paul Ryan can think that over. Will his bosses choice for Hillarys replacement take responsibility after the fact or will they rethink having an embassy in enemy territory.
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:09pmLike I said before, Obama’s the danged president, he is ultimately responsible, but he WON’T take responsibility for ANYTHING bad in his term. The guy is a crap weasel. He attended (or should have) the security briefings, he knew the Libyan embassy was asking for more security. If he didn’t know THAT, then he is just not presidential material and needs to be kicked out. He needs to quit counting on Valerie to do the job he is supposed yo be doing. Instead, he is playing basketball, attending a party, campaigning, playing doctor with Reggie, or on tv.
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SocialistSlayer
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:20pmHe will be removed from office next month!
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00100111
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:29pmWell, he’ll be voted out anyway. He won’t be removed until Jan 20. Though, I don’t know why we let him stay. Just get him out immediately. I know there’s protocol and stuff, but he obviously doesn’t seem to care for it anyway. Just make him get out that night. Don’t even wait til Nov 7. Put his bags on the front porch the evening of Nov 6 with a note on the door “Nothing personal, but get out. Don’t come back.”
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MiCurmudgeon
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:09pmI bet Oblamer will cry “Racist” the first time anyone says ” The buck stops here.”
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carl_in_ohio
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:09pmSenator McCain is wrong.
Its naive to think that the President is aware of everything. That’s why he has Secretaries of State and Defense and a National Security Adviser.
Do you really think the President is going to be advised about security measures at an Embassy?
Secretary Clinton is the ultimate person who should have known (possibly). There are many levels of administration.
She’s willing to take the responsibility for the incident. We need to drop the issue.
Mourning for the dead and their families. Fix the problem, and move on.
Senator McCain is grand standing and needs to sit down.
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Exrepublisheep
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:17pmExcellent post. People will hate you for it.
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SocialistSlayer
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:18pmNo Carl – You are wrong and you sound like a Communist! If obama had attended his security briefings instead of campaigning he would have been aware of what was going on. In addition it was his decision to oust Libya’s president and support the Muslim Brotherhood that took over in Libya and Egypt.
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Government_Goodies
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:22pmI have to agree. During the Iran-Contra Scandal, the buck stopped with Oliver North. A President will have folks around him who will fall on the sword for them either out of loyalty or a payoff.
Additionally, McCain has become such an irrelevant non-entity that, even in this case, my initial reaction is “Shut up, Meg!” Upon, reflection and reconsideration, my opinion becomes, “What a dork. He really needs to shut up.”
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00100111
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:31pmSorry, but you are wrong. As the president he is ultimately responsible for everyone who works under him. He can’t just say “I didn’t know, not my fault.” Even Reagan came out and accepted responsibility for actions that happened without his knowledge. Obama seems to think he’s Reagan, maybe he should follow the example, and not have Hillary fall on her sword for him.
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Government_Goodies
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:50pmYou’re rewriting history. Reagan didn’t “accept responsibility” for the Iran-Contra scandal…
The words “I don’t remember” or their equivalents occurred at least 124 times in his eight hours of testimony. The lapses in memory ranged from the identity of Rep. Lee Hamilton, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee during several of the key years of Reagan’s presidency, to the central conclusions of the Tower Commission, which Reagan appointed to investigate the Iran-contra affair.
Reagan’s memory lapses, however, never occurred on answers that bolstered his longstanding position that he, himself, had done nothing wrong. Repeatedly, he emphasized that while he might not be able to recall the names of the subordinates he gave instructions to – even at Cabinet rank – he recalled clearly the content of the instructions: “Stay within the law.”
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elkslayer
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:02pmHe will never redeam himlelf. But jurst maybe we can get some good out of him.
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Wigan
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:01pmThere is no way Rice said what she did for days and days without White House approval. Hillary’s argument that the president is not responsible for day-to-day operations in embassy security is a distraction from the clear cover up story the WH did put their stamp of approval on, if not create in its entirety. Had Obama came clean and said something like “we deferred to the State Dept recommendation that increased security would cause diplomatic issues in Libya” and had done so early on after the event, I might be more inclined to believe that the secretary of state was at fault here. But because they deliberately covered up the incident to make it appear less inflammatory and fit the narrative of success they were peddling at the DNC, there is cause for concern with the president. Obama is arrogant and believes he is infallible, and therefore blames everyone else around him when his policies fail. As this goes on, expect to see Valerie Jarret or Axelrod get the blame so the big O can still be blameless.
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cdn1979
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:01pmso by this logic, 9/11 was the responsibility of George w. bush? grow up and stop making a political football of the dead. If terrorist attacks can be stopped i’m sure they would have been. pathetic.
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:49pmNot the same CDN.
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OneofMany
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:59pmThe Owebama campaign desperation is phenomenal! It’s all backfiring now! LOL
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moreteaplease
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:59pm“The former Republican presidential nominee also said the Obama administration has been in “cover-up mode” ever since the fiery attack, which left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. ”
———————–
They have been in cover-up mode from Day 1. of this administration.
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progressiveslayer
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:58pmThe buck stops with the candyass coward Soetoro,of course he’s never been held accountable for anything in his worthless life. He’s been catered to his entire life and covered for just like now,he’s our affirmative action disaster in chief wrecking one country at a time.
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KickinBack
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:56pmHillary says she’s responsible. Good for her, now resign.
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carl_in_ohio
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:15pmthis is a valid point.
If she knew about the information and failed to act, then yes she should resign. that would be the honorable thing.
she may not have known, and is simply being a good leadership and taking the responsibility. If this is the case, she should remain in office.
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00100111
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:35pm“I didn’t know” is about as worthless as “I was only following orders”.
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2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:51pmCarl: She either intentionally “failed to act” or she is sufficiently incompetent to prohibit her from fulfilling her duties. Which is worse?
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Zipit
Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:46pm2minutes! I believe that she did know, and chose not to act! And I believe the White House also knew, and attempted to use the situation for pure political gain!
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CatB
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:56pmHillary must just love taking cr*p for and from men … she let Bill walk all over her .. and LIED for him … and now the same thing with Obama … hey Hillary stop taking the fall for men .. this is NOT a woman who should be representing Americans against terrorists or anyone else especially since most of these people are MALE. She obviously is a doormat.
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Jenny Lind
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:55pmYou think? Let’s not let them get away with it this time, keep it in the news.
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TheLeftMadeMeRight
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:52pmSen. McCain won’t you please retire and take up a hobby or something….
term limits
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TSUNAMI_22
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:09pmYeah, no kidding. I still can’t understand why McCain is featured so much lately. The guy is a RINO and a progressive RINO at that.
I still think Hillary orchestrated this whole Benghazi event to somehow embarrass Obama in order to pave the road to her nomination for POTUS in 2016, but it backfired in a big way when 4 men died instead of being taken hostage. Now she’s in CYA mode claiming “responsibility”. The only reason she is claiming responsibility is to avoid being blamed and prosecuted for the whole thing entirely, and therefore investigated and held culpable (which would probably expose her real intentions and motives).
Hillary Clinton is a conniving dirtbag “runt” with a capital “C”.
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marine249
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:26pm@ TSUAMI_22
Yes I agree Hill is a DIRTBAG.
Also you must agree with me, B.O.
is just a bigger DIRTBAG.
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KangarooJack
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:42pmPerhaps Model Airplanes?
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TSUNAMI_22
Oct. 16, 2012 at 4:51pm@ marine249
Yes I agree Hill is a DIRTBAG.
Also you must agree with me, B.O.
is just a bigger DIRTBAG.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Goes without saying. Hillary is more of a puppeteer, where Obama is just the puppet.
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jwd66
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:52pm4 people died and the buck stops with the madam secretary, is your resignation in the mail?
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bannedfromCNN
Oct. 16, 2012 at 3:52pmWhere was this “firebrand” during the 2008 campaign?
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