OBAMA AIDE: Legality of IRS targeting conservative groups “irrelevant.”

Also “irrelevant” — where the President was during Benghazi attacks. Not a good day for the White House on the Sunday shows. . .

UPDATE: The relevance of “irrelevant.” Can I make an empty-chair joke now? “In talking about Benghazi, the interviewer, Chris Wallace, is trying to extract a specific fact about the events, a fact that has not yet come out and that Pfeiffer might know. Pfeiffer blows out a tirade of truly irrelevant verbiage to distract us from the question asked, including the notion that the fact isn’t important. Who cares where the physical body of Obama was as long as he was ‘in touch’? Well, some people would like to know, so tell us the fact and let us decide what use to make of it. To withhold the fact — on the ground that, in your opinion, we don’t need it — is to make us think it would be damaging. . . . It must be relevant, we think, at least for political purposes, or Pfeiffer wouldn’t strain so hard to suppress it.” What could that be? I can’t even imagine. An assignation at the Hay-Adams?

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Lynda Bowen writes:

This is really strange. They absolutely don’t want to account for Obama’s exact whereabouts during the time in question. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were trying to cover up the fact that he was pulling a Clinton (that would be Bill … in the cloak room with Monica… not a Hillary).

Seriously, something else was going on that they don’t want ANYONE to know about…

They don’t want to talk about it. But it wasn’t nookie at the Hay-Adams. (Everyone goes to the W for that now in DC anyway). It was a special meeting on the alien invasion.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: Hillary Clinton Has the Most to Lose From Obama’s Scandals. “It’s not just Benghazi. By tying herself closely to Obama, she’ll have trouble distancing herself if his political standing worsens.”

STACY MCCAIN ON The Fate of Basseley Nakoula.

“Hillary’s promise of vengeance to the father of a fallen SEAL wasn’t that we’d get the jihadis who killed him but that we’d punish the filmmaker. That’s perverse, but in keeping with the fact that she decided to run ads on Pakistani TV apologizing for the film while Islamist cretins menaced American diplomats across the region.”
– Allahpundit, Oct. 25, 2012

The wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time: Nakoula was out on “supervised release” for a federal bank fraud conviction. He was $700,000 behind on restitution payments and operating under an alias when he made “The Innocence of Muslims,” a crappy movie that got turned into a YouTube video clip that in turn became the pretext of riots in Egypt and then — it is now generally acknowledged — was utilized as a flimsy excuse by the State Department in an attempt to distract from its embarrassing failures in the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Having become unintentionally famous, the con man Nakoula was arrested and hustled into federal court amid unusually high security two weeks after the Benghazi attacks. We need not wonder why Eric Holder’s Justice Department made this a top priority:

“We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.”
– Hillary Clinton, Sept. 14, 2012 . . . .

But this isn’t really about Nakoula at all, is it?

What the case of Nakoula actually demonstrates is the strangely misplaced priorities of the Obama administration: Eight months later, they still haven’t caught any of the terrorists who killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, but they needed only two weeks to apprehend Nakoula.

Indeed. Nakoula wasn’t a hero, but he was a scapegoat. We’re still waiting to see just exactly what sins of others were loaded onto his shoulders — and who, precisely, those others were.

MICHAEL BARONE: Did Clinton and Obama believe their Benghazi baloney? “What were President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thinking? Why did they keep pitching the line that the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans started as a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim video? . . . Obama continued to attribute the Benghazi attack to a protest against a video on Sept. 18 (“Letterman”), Sept. 20 (Univision) and Sept. 25 (“The View” and the United Nations). There were obvious cynical political motives for attempting to mislead voters during a closely contested presidential campaign.”

Filmmaker Nakoula is still in jail.

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Hillary Clinton’s Shameful Intimidation Of Gregory Hicks. “The secretary of state in the most transparent administration in history has her chief of staff warn a Benghazi whistle-blower to not spill the beans on Benghazi to a U.S. congressman.”

BENGHAZI FALLOUT: Hillary’s White House Hopes Under Fire, But Don’t Count Her Out. “But don’t bet against the Clintons. Democrats are 
already raising questions about the whistleblowers and trying to portray the hearings as political theater. Much of the media will probably end up giving her a pass and saying Benghazi is old news by the time the campaign rolls around. And just in case Benghazi does end up costing Clinton the White House, there’s someone else ready and willing to take her place in the 2016 race. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.”

KEN AT POPEHAT THINKS THE NAKOULA IMPRISONMENT IS NO BIG DEAL. I dunno, Hillary was promising to put the filmmaker in jail before she even knew who it was.

BUZZFEED: Benghazi Investigation Creeps Closer To Hillary Clinton.

UPDATE: Father of Slain SEAL: ‘I Knew’ Clinton Was Lying When She Told Me It Was About the Video. But filmmaker Nakoula is still in jail.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: The High Cost to the White House of Stonewalling on Benghazi. “When asked about the upcoming hearing, White House spokesman Jay Carney largely deflected. Curiously, the Obama administration also won’t talk about the footage that they have from the compound – video that some people who have seen it argue could clear up questions about whether the incident was a premeditated terrorist attack or something less. They just really don’t want to talk about this. But the last time the administration played keep-away on a security issue was drones, and that didn’t work out so well for the White House. Benghazi has already cost the president his first choice for secretary of State. What could stonewalling cost the White House this time?”

UPDATE: Hicks: Higher-ups at State told me not to talk to GOP congressman about Benghazi; Update: “Effectively demoted.” “Cheryl Mills is no run-of-the-mill State Department apparatchik, even among the top tier. She’s been one of the Clintons’ right-hand men for decades. She worked in Bill’s White House legal office, then as counsel to Hillary’s presidential campaign, then became chief of staff at State when Hillary was appointed secretary. If she’s the right-hand man, what other conclusion is there than that Hillary’s the one who wanted Hicks to keep his mouth shut when meeting with Chaffetz?”

(Bumped.)

VIDEO: Mother of Slain Benghazi Victim: ‘I Blame’ Hillary Clinton for Son’s Death. Benghazi was a pathetic display of ineptitude and ass-covering.

I’d also like to know who decided to scapegoat Nakoula. Note that Hillary was still pushing the lame video excuse at the memorial service, by which time everyone knew it wasn’t true.

REMINDER: HILLARY PUSHED THE “INTERNET VIDEO” STORY AT FUNERAL. Video here.

A reader emails:

We have known for a long time – and the MSM is going to have to finally reckon with the fact – that the “video” narrative was a fraud, a political construct to cover ass, protect campaign talking points, and misdirect accountability for the four deaths in Benghazi. The Susan Rice spectacle has been pounded on over and over, and rightfully so, but there’s one nuance that needs to be shoved repeatedly into Hilary Clinton’s face:

Hilary pushed the fraudulent video narrative while standing over the caskets of Ambassador Stevens and the other three murdered Americans.

The optics on this alone should haunt her for the rest of her sad, pathetic, cravenly political life. I’ve transcribed her comments, and also have a link to the full, unedited video of the memorial service below.

Clinton comments occur from 16:25-17:45:

“This has been a difficult week for the State Department and for our country. We’ve seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing do to with. It’s hard for the American people to make sense of that, because it is senseless, and it is totally unacceptable. The people of Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia, did not trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob. Reasonable people and responsible leaders in these countries in these countries need to do everything they can to restore security and hold accountable those behind these violent acts. And we will, under the president’s leadership, keep taking steps to protect our personnel around the world.”

Here’s the video so you can see for yourself.

Update: Via Ed Driscoll, here’s an isolated clip of the segment quoted above:

Also, here’s the State Department’s transcription of Hillary’s speech.

THE HILL: Whistle-blower: Special forces could have saved Americans in Benghazi.

U.S. special operations forces in Libya could have saved Americans killed in the attack last Sept. 11 on the consulate in Benghazi but were told to stand down, a State Department whistle-blower has told congressional investigators.

The testimony by Gregory Hicks, who will appear before a House panel on Wednesday, contradicts previous testimony by administration officials who have said all U.S. forces in Libya were deployed the night of the attack.
Hicks was in Tripoli during the attack and became the top U.S. diplomat in Libya when Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.

He said the special operations team was ready to fly after Stevens was killed but before a second attack killed two other Americans.

After Libya’s prime minister called to tell him Stevens had died, Hicks said: “The Libyan military agreed to fly their C-130 to Benghazi and carry additional personnel to Benghazi as reinforcements.”

But as the special operations team headed to the airport, Hicks said, they got a phone call from Special Operations Command Africa saying, “you can’t go now; you don’t have authority to go now.”

The C-130 ended up leaving after the attack was over and the four Americans were dead.

Disgraceful. And filmmaker Nakoula, whose YouTube video served as the basis for a lame cover story that no one believes any more, is still in jail.

UPDATE: Reader Richard Whitten writes: “How long before Obama Administration throws Hillary under the bus? They seem to have a penchant for doing that.” Right now, protecting her for 2016 is a priority, but if she looks like damaged goods they’ll sacrifice her pretty fast.

MORE REVELATIONS: Hillary Clinton sought end-run around counter-terrorism bureau on night of Benghazi attack, witness will say.

ARE YOU KIDDING? I MEAN, WHO DOESN’T? Have you ever wanted to see a Hollywood biopic about the budding romance between young Bill & Hillary?

AND WITH REASON: House report critical of Obama administration over Benghazi.

Senior State Department officials, including Clinton, approved reductions in security at the facilities in Benghazi, according to the report by GOP members of five House committees. The report cites an April 19, 2012, cable bearing Clinton’s signature acknowledging a March 28, 2012, request from then-U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz for more security, yet allowing further reductions.

“Senior State Department officials knew that the threat environment in Benghazi was high and that the Benghazi compound was vulnerable and unable to withstand an attack, yet the department continued to systematically withdraw security personnel,” the report said.

Release of the report comes as dozens of House Republicans separately have pushed for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to create a select committee to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012, attack. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report Tuesday.

The report also is highly critical of President Barack Obama and White House staff. In the days following the attack, White House and senior State Department officials altered what the report said were accurate “talking points” drafted by the U.S. intelligence community in order to protect the State Department.

And contrary to what the administration claimed, the alterations were not made to protect classified information. “Concern for classified information is never mentioned in email traffic among senior administration officials,” according to the 43-page report.

They were trying to protect the pre-election narrative that terrorism was no longer anything we had to worry about. Meanwhile, filmmaker/scapegoat Nakoula is still in jail, even though nobody believes that his YouTube video had anything to do with Benghazi anymore.

Related: Report Says Hillary Signed Off On Benghazi Security Reduction.

IT’S ALL A CLEVER PLAN FOR 2016, TO MAKE HILLARY LOOK GOOD BY COMPARISON: “Secretary of State John Kerry seems to be terribly confused.”

MEDIA PRIORITY: At all costs, protect Hillary from Benghazi fallout.

PAPER TIGRESS: Why Hillary Is Less Inevitable Than You Think. I can remember the last time she was inevitable.

WHY YOUR KID CAN’T GET A JOB, as explained by Michael Malone of Forbes and Silicon Valley marketing executive Tom Hayes:

So what is a kid today to do? One answer is to establish a powerful personal brand independent of work experience. Not just cobble together a few starter jobs, but pursue their own aspirations – and then learn how to define them and market them to the corporate world. Another answer is to take advantage of being a digital natives and build new kinds of networks – and a sharing economy – and find jobs for each other and hire amongst themselves. Freelancing is likely to be their future anyhow, so why not start and learn the skills (from DIY bookkeeping to marketing) of being an entrepreneur now? Young job hunters need to rethink their social media presence. Social proof is critical to employers. Ditch the frat party photos, avoid the drunken tweets. Turn your public social media presence into a showcase of your personal brand and portal of interests and skills. Connect the dots for the prospective hiring manager. The best way to combat a thin resume is with photos, video, endorsements. Be unusual and memorable: if, for example, you reached Level 60 on World of Warcraft, tell your future boss why that means you have monster leadership skills. And, show you have a big and growing network that comes with you when you get hired.

Read the whole the whole thing, and then pass it along to someone who either needs the advice personally, or has kids who would benefit from these suggestions.

Though I’m not sure if ditching the frat party photos is the answer though. They can take you “unexpectedly” far in politics, to the point where you can declare “Peace In Our Time:”

DOESN’T EVERYBODY WANT A COPY? Report: “Hillary Clinton gave visiting dignitaries signed copies of her autobiography.”

Incidentally, Amazon makes a Kindle app for the iPod Touch, which can also be used to distribute recordings of your speeches.

MICHAEL WALSH: FIGHT ON.

Advice to the RNC: Don’t “re-brand.” Fight.

That’s it. Fight. Fight them on every front, fight them in every state, fight them on television and in print and on the airwaves. Confront them at every opportunity, seek out and embrace conflict, and fear not bullies like Chuck Schumer (the living embodiment of the Lefty Sneer), Dick Durbin, and passive-aggressive corruptocrats like Harry Reid. Don’t make nice with them, don’t play fair with them, don’t reach across the aisle and above all, treat them and their ideas with exactly the same amount of respect with which they treat yours: none. Contempt is the only language they understand.

Remember that, thanks to Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Alinsky Left, the personal is now political, so get personal; all’s fair in love and war, and politics isn’t love. As Pat Caddell just reminded the GOP, his team plays to win, and doesn’t really much care how it does it — “by any means necessary” is their motto. If you’re not using their own rules against them, you’re not playing the game.

Put them on defense for a change and see how they like it.

Read the whole thing.

HMM: Hacker Begins Distributing Confidential Memos Sent To Hillary Clinton On Libya, Benghazi Attack. Based on the Sid Blumenthal hack: “As TSG reported last week, after Blumenthal’s e-mail account was compromised, the hacker searched it for e-mails sent to Clinton, and further sorted the mail to segregate any attachment–like Word files–that were included in Blumenthal’s correspondence to Clinton. Many of these pilfered documents were memos to Clinton on foreign policy and intelligence matters.”

AMERICAN SENIORS SLAM DAVID PLOUFFE FOR AGEISM. Hey, if Woodward’s too old to report, then Hillary will be too old to be President in 2016.

TOBY HARNDEN: War chest swings open for 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign. “During Obama’s inauguration festivities, Bill Clinton discreetly made contact with a number of top Democratic party donors. He was observed with big Obama fundraisers at a Business Forward lunch at Washington’s Newseum.”

LOVE HAS NO PRIDE: “The thought that love has no pride is an old one. Indeed, it has become something of a cliché. Yet it has achieved the status of cliché by virtue of the truth in it. CBS’s venerable 60 Minutes show brought us an example of the cliché in action over the weekend. 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft is smitten with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He put his professional skills aside to do public relations for Obama and Clinton in their joint interview with him for the show. A serious journalist might have tried to learn something on the issues of the day from them. Not Kroft. Lest there be any misunderstanding, Kroft thrust his tongue down their throats as fast as he could and kept it there for the duration.”

HOW’S THAT SMART DIPLOMACY WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Obama Buries the Reset.

The “reset” policy with Russia that was one of the Obama administration’s signature endeavors in its first term came closer to death this week, as the United States pulled out of a key working group on civil society in Russia. The decision came after weeks of heightened tensions between the two countries, beginning with the passage of the Magnitsky Act last month. Since then, Russia has increased crackdowns on civil society groups at home, and inflamed tensions with the US by measures like the ban on American adoptions of Russian kids.. . .

Like their predecessors in the Carter years, the Obama team has been torn between the demands of the international realpolitik they think America needs and the attachment to human rights they cannot live without. Maximizing cooperation with Russia on issues like the war in Syria and the Iranian nuclear issue demands that we shut up as Putin jails his opponents, cracks down on civil society and generally consolidates authoritarian rule as best he can. If we don’t pay Russia’s price on human rights, the Kremlin retaliates by making life as difficult for the United States as it conveniently can. That makes it harder for the Obama administration to achieve its goals in the Middle East without the use of force and with the blessing of the United Nations Security Council.

This is another version of the problem that the United States faced in the 1970s when the policy of detente with the Soviet Union led to what many people on both the left and the right considered an immoral tolerance for Soviet human rights abuses. For Carter, the struggle ended unhappily; he was unable to get another nuclear deal, the human rights situation in the Soviet Union and its satellites did not change, and the Cold War heated up when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Tell me again how successful Hillary was as Secretary of State? Remember, even the original reset-button prop was bungled. Which, in retrospect, was a pretty accurate omen.

OUCH: What Difference Does It Make?

NICK GILLESPIE: 3 Incredibly Outrageous Evasions by Hillary Clinton About Benghazi.

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Hillary Clinton Cries, Yells But Won’t Apologize for Benghazi.

HOW DARE YOU “SMEAR” HILLARY by quoting her accurately! “These unfair ‘tactics’ include (a) direct quotes, (b) facts and (c) math.”

WHO WAS ASKING THAT ABOUT BARACK OBAMA IN 2007? ABC Reporter: But What Does Rand Paul Know About Foreign Policy?

Related: Hillary Testifies About Benghazi Attacks.

POLLING: Chuck Hagel Not Winning Over The Public. “The Post-ABC polls show 42 percent of Americans approve of the Chuck Hagel nomination. This is poor by any historical measure. At the time of her nomination, Hillary Clinton got the support of 71 percent of Americans in a CNN poll taken in December, 2008, while 83 percent approved of Robert Gates continuing as secretary of defense. Defense secretaries, and to an even greater extent secretaries of state, have generally enjoyed excellent ratings from the public, perhaps because they are seen to be above the political fray. Even at the time of his resignation, Donald Rumsfeld’s approval hovered in the 50 percent range.” (Emphasis added).

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S WAR ON WOMEN:

Leon Panetta—a man—is going to leave his position as secretary of defense. Barack Obama wants him to be replaced by Chuck Hagel—a man.

Michael Morell—a man—is going to leave his position as acting director of central intelligence. Barack Obama wants him to be replaced by John Brennan—a man.

Hillary Clinton—a woman—is going to leave her position as secretary of state. Barack Obama wants her to be replaced by John Kerry—a man.

Timothy Geithner—a man—is going to leave his position as secretary of the treasury. Barack Obama wants him to be replaced by Jack Lew—a man.

Since making Jack Lew—a man—the secretary of the treasury would require him to leave his current position as chief of staff, Barack Obama will have to nominate someone else for that position. According to the New York Times, the choice is down to Ronald Klain and Denis McDonough—both men.

Hey, he gave you chicks free birth control. That’s what you wanted, right? Stuff for your vaginas. These jobs aren’t about vaginas. And it’s all about the vaginas.

HEY, ALL THAT CHICK-LIB STUFF WAS JUST FOR THE ELECTION. HE DOESN’T ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT: WaPo: Obama’s failure to nominate women for two top Cabinet posts questioned. “Obama, who made women’s issues a core of his reelection bid, has nominated men to serve in three of his most prominent national security positions. . . . The moves have disappointed some supporters who said they fear, with Clinton’s departure, a paucity of females among Obama’s top advisers, particularly in the traditionally male-dominated field of defense and security.”

UPDATE: Reader Jeff Dobbs emails:

Look, Michele Flournoy may not end up as Secretary of Defense, but she will get free birth control. Obama and the Democrats didn’t hide the fact that *that* is what they consider the most pressing women’s issue of our day. Well, that and protecting them from billionaire bosses out to give them cancer. In the end, a majority of women, if their votes are any indication, agreed.

Republicans gave a prime time speaking slot at their convention to Condoleezza Rice. The Democrats gave one to Sandra Fluke. Unless I am mistaken, Ms. Fluke hasn’t been on any short lists of cabinet positions in the Obama administration, and Ms. Rice has never advocated for free birth control for women everywhere.

(Two surprises in your post: 1) no “they told me if I voted for Mitt Romney…”; and 2) Not running the pic of Favreau feeling up the cutout of Hillary).

Hey, if you notice the absence, then that means I’ve done my job already . . . .

ANN ALTHOUSE: Why is it “inhumane” and “idiotic” to question the veracity of the claims that have been made about Hillary Clinton’s various medical conditions? Because no one would doubt the honesty of a politician — especially one named Clinton!

But it’s hard to be shamed by those who have none, and have-you-no-decency attacks are unpersuasive coming from those who have consistently demonstrated the lack thereof.

I’LL TAKE SHORT-LIVED INTERNATIONAL LAW DOCTRINES FOR $500, ALEX: Duty to Protect: RIP. “A new UN report estimates that 60,000-plus people have been killed in Syria between March 2011 and today. Worse, the rate of casualties is increasing as the war drags on, as both sides begin to use heavier weapons. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay put it bluntly: ‘Collectively, we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns.’ . . . It’s certainly not too late for the U.S. to get more involved in fixing the mess in Syria, but our options are now considerably worse than they were two years ago. Years have passed, and we’re continuing to pay for our ill-advised decision to intervene in Libya while ignoring the more serious crisis in Syria—as are hundreds of thousands of Syrians.”

I guess this is more of that “smart diplomacy” we were promised. Hillary Clinton was unavailable for comment because of health reasons, but somebody could ask Susan Rice or Samantha Power. . . . .

BENGHAZI: What’s Happening to Hillary? Only a clod would say the clot is a plot! “The suppression of information — the site of the clot — suggests 2 radically different theories: 1. fakery/exaggeration to evade testimony, or 2. something horribly serious. I read Sepkowitz to exclude the middle ground.”

LEADERSHIP: Benghazi? Whatever! There was just some ‘sloppiness’ there, says Obama. According to a State Department spokesperson, Secretary of State Hillary of Clinton was unable to comment because of “a really bad hangover.”

UPDATE: From the same interview: “Unfortunately, the camera was not on Gregory at the moment when ‘banning these high capacity clips’ was mentioned.” Heh. I doubt that was by accident.

TOM MAGUIRE ON The Renewal of Warrantless Eavesdropping: “People who want reform of our FISA laws need to work for the election of a Republican President so the NY Times and the rest of the liberal media can become enraged again. The next renewal is in five years; if it happens under President Hillary it will be perfunctory, but if it is President Rubio, well, the media will discover FISA problems by the bushel.”

BACKBONE: Senate Republicans refuse to confirm Kerry until Hillary testifies about Benghazi. According to a State Department spokesperson, such testimony is doubtful as Secretary of State Clinton is suffering from “really bad canker sores.”

“WHERE’S HILLARY?”

DUCKING ACCOUNTABILITY: Hillary’s Benghazi Role. According to a State Department spokesperson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was unable to respond due to “female problems you really don’t want to hear about.”

THE STORY ISN’T DEAD: Benghazi Questions, State Department Answers. According to a spokesperson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was recuperating from “a really painful bunion” and was thus unable to comment.

YA THINK? Max Boot: Benghazi Report Leaves Some Questions Unanswered.

There is little said about the military response to the attacks, beyond the sending of a drone aircraft and the evacuation of the diplomats in Benghazi; and there is even less about the White House role in managing the response to the crisis, even though senior officials, up to and including the president, must have been aware of the attacks as they were occurring. Nor is there anything in the report about the failure, so far, to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. Why, for example, has the administration seemingly decided to treat this as a law enforcement matter, with the FBI in the lead, rather than treating it as an act of war, with the armed forces in the lead? A fuller explanation of those issues awaits, presumably, more congressional digging.

According to a State Department spokesperson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was unable to comment due to a flare-up of irritable bowel syndrome.

A QUESTION FOR HILLARY CLINTON: Krauthammer: ‘How Can You Send Somebody Into Benghazi and Completely Misread the Situation?’ Secretary of State Clinton was sidelined by a nasty yeast infection, and was thus unable to comment.

MICHAEL WALSH: The Higher-Ups Skate On Benghazi. “A few heads have rolled, including that of the State Department’s security chief, but the higher ups who were party to the fiasco — including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Ambassador Susan Rice and President Obama, on whose desk the buck putatively stops — are unscathed by the fog of lies that has shrouded Benghazi ever since the outrage.” The buck stops with those lacking juice.

HILLARY! 2016: Benghazi verdict: grossly inadequate security and systemic failures of leadership. If they ask her about it in the debates, I guess she can just duck out for an emergency colonoscopy or something.

IN OTHER NEWS, HILLARY IS EXPECTING A GALLBLADDER ATTACK ANY DAY NOW: Inquiry Into Libya Attack Is Sharply Critical of State Dept.

UPDATE: Full Benghazi Report Here.

I GUESS HILLARY CLINTON WILL HAVE HEMORRHOID SURGERY OR SOMETHING AND BE UNABLE TO TESTIFY ABOUT THIS, TOO: U.S. Policy is Making Syria into an Anti-Western, Antisemitic Islamist State. “Even if one rationalizes the Islamist takeover in Egypt as due to internal events, this one is U.S.-made.”

BENGHAZI: Congresswoman to Ask Sec. Clinton About Unarmed ‘Security’ at Benghazi Hearing.