Rasmussen polled whether Benghazi has become an issue that can impact President Obama’s re-election. A slim majority say yes.
Voters are now more critical of how the Obama administration has handled the situation in Libya, including the murder of the U.S. ambassador there, and most think it will hurt President Obama’s chances for reelection. However, they are slightly more confident in the president than Mitt Romney to handle events in the Middle East.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% of Likely U.S. Voters now rate the way the administration has responded to the situation in Libya as good or excellent. That’s down nine points from 44% in mid-September just after the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Forty percent (40%) view the administration’s Libya response as poor, up from 34% a month ago. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Overall, 51% think it will hurt Obama at the polls on Nov. 6. The poll was conducted over the weekend Oct 13-14 and has a margin of error of 3%.
Obama’s Benghazi problem is more than merely political. The attacks in Cairo and Benghazi on 9-11 blow a large hole in the Obama campaign’s narrative that the killings of Obama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders, mainly by drone attacks, have “crippled” the terrorist network. Killing terror leaders generates headlines, but as Secretary of State Clinton noted in a speech last week, it’s not the headlines but the trend lines that we should pay attention to. She was right, for the wrong reason. The trend line in the Middle East shows Islamists on the rise and al-Qaeda re-branding and on the comeback trail. The fact that the Muslim Brotherhood-led Egyptian government and al-Qaeda’s messaging now seem to be in harmony should be raising alarms all over Washington, but the Obama administration refuses to acknowledge it for political reasons. Without the story of crippling al-Qaeda available to him, Obama has no serious foreign policy achievements to point to from his four years in office. The economy remains weak and his own policies remain unpopular.
So, it’s time to try turning Mitt Romney into a Bain villain again. If you don’t have a record to run on, you paint your opponent as somebody people should run from…
Also read:
My mind boggles, repeatedly, trying to grasp how anyone can not grasp
that getting the Obama administration out of power is an existential
issue transcending politics, how anyone can expect that if he is re-
elected he will not be impeached or forced to resign as was Nixon.
Hillary Clinton Admits the U.S. Government Created al-Qaeda Published on Apr 10, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifZK6SVlQ1Y&feature=related
A slim margin is a start. I hope it snowballs. The latter can only happen if Romney and the GOP find effective ways to drive home that point. That should be easy, considering Obama’s cavalier attitude towards the whole affair. It might also be worthwhile for them to point out that the Libya war was conducted entirely without Congressional approval.
And while they’re at it, they could add:
1) the comment about “flexibility” made to Medvedev — on camera no less
2) His desire for virtually unilateral nuclear disarmament
I don’t suppose Romney should do this himself but the campaign must start calling out Hillary. They should start by asking her to explain Biden’s remarks, that neither he nor Obama knew that State had recieved requests for more security. Did State not inform the WH? Did the CIA, which is under the State’s charge, not include this in the President’s Daily Brief, as would have been required?
Shed no tears for Hillary. She knows where the bodies are buried but will not talk because she wants a 2016 run. Forget gunning for Axelrod, go straight for Hillary.
Hillary just fell on her sword (CNN interview Mon night) over the Benghazi attack. But as I have said elsewhere, this is not the major scandal. It is the complete fabrication of a video-motivated protest sparking violence. This fairy tale was repeated 5 times by Susan Rice 5 days after the fact. Mr. 0 repeated it at the UN, on Letterman, at the Ambassador’s coffin side and on the View. This is a cover up. Mr. 0 has lied to us so many times, so successfully, that he thinks he can get away with this bullswollop. Here’s hoping the People of the Unites States are not going to fall for this one.
You have a lot more faith in American voters than I have.
Majority Believe Benghazi Debacle Will Hurt Obama at the Polls
As well it should. Of course, saying such a thing is apparently raaaaacist or something. Or so my lefty friends keep telling me.
At the very least, Bengazigate raises to the level of negligence/malfeasance via grave dereliction of duty, and pales in comparison to Watergate,which led to Nixon’s ouster!
So, if one adds up Bengazigate, and couples it with Fast & Furious, the Radical/Liar/Islamist/Thug-in-Chief (and his henchmen) should be removed from office, and then hauled into jail cells.
http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/09/26/unraveling-the-video-the-so-called-triggerfuse-of-libyan-egyptian-islamic-rage-sweeping-the-globe-northeast-intelligence-network-walid-shoebat-too-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
To wit, lock them up and throw away the keys!
OBAMA GOTTA GO…..
The writing has been on the wall since Obama gave his disastrous Cairo speech. No longer would America be the worlds nuclear policeman. Iran joining the club of nuclear nations? No problem. Just be good boys and follow the rules.
Yeah, right.
The murder of American diplomatic personnel in Benghazi was as predictable as sun up. The attempted cover up just as predictable. Obama has undermined American freedom at home and American safety abroad.
Another four years? Just say no.
What if the attack on the US embassy in Cairo ALSO had nothing to do with the stupid video? Think about it. On 10 September 2012, Ayman al-Zawahiri, current leader of al Qaeda, called via the Internet for massive riots against American targets in response to the killing of a major al Qaeda member who just happened to be from Libya. The very next day, which also happened to be the anniversary of 9/11, you had a major riot in Cairo PLUS the military attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. But did you notice what happened in Cairo? The American flag was pulled down from our embassy and a black al Qaeda flag was pulled up. And the crowd was chanting, “Obama, Obama, we’re all Osama now.”
What in God’s name did ANY of this have to do with a video? In fact, it didn’t seem like anybody in that crowd in Cairo mentioned anything about a video on YouTube. Could it be that the White House cooked up this whole video excuse to misdirect the American public from what was really going on, which was a massive demonstration of force by al Qaeda in the Middle East? Just a week before, Obama, Biden, and John Kerry were all bragging at the Democratic National convention that al Qaeda was as dead as bin Laden. Now, on the anniversary of 9/11, al Qaeda makes a huge comeback and not only attacks our embassy in Cairo, but kills our embassador in Libya along with three other Americans. Doesn’t look too good in a campaign ad, does it?
And once the excuse of this video was out there, the administration had to keep promoting it to prevent people from seeing what really happened, that we had just had the worst attack on American people and property in the Middle East since 9/11/2001. Again, that doesn’t look too good in a campaign commercial, which is why the administration kept pushing people like Susan Rice to lie on all those talk shows five days after the attacks and why Obama kept promoting this lie on The View, David Letterman, and his appearance at the United Nations. If people wrote this as a script for Hollywood, nobody would believe it.
We are now facing the biggest coverup since Watergate. Four Americans have been brutally murdered and nobody at the White House can even SAY “Terrorist Attack” without almost gagging on the words. As the weeks go by, more information will come out, especially with leaks from the CIA and the State Department. I just hope Congress pursues this investigation to the bitter end, even if Obama loses the election. Too many American lives depend on it.
To compound the “inflammatory movie” narrative fraud, one reason for the Cairo riot may have been to win the realease the so-called “Blind Sheikh” who was behind the first WTC attack. There is also speculation that the Libya attack was meant to take Stevens hostage, but the unexpected presence of two ex-SEALS who came to his defense botched that plan. Stevens was to be exchanged for the Sheikh. To make the story even more interesting, a rumor floated about a month ago that Obama was planning to release the Sheikh to Egypt as a “goodwill gesture.” Since it was members of Congress who were inquiring about whether that was in the offing, the “rumor” likely had substance to it. I sure hope that paper trail is uncovered, and very soon.
“…In Libya there’s a big song and dance about whether this was a terrorist attack or a protest and you just want to scream, “For God sakes, are you kidding me?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BD7CYLTndk
The Obama Administration finds itself in a bind, with no way out. 1) Libya is in the state it is in due to Obama’s direct actions. 2) Hillary serves at HIS pleasure. If she is at fault, who chose her for that position? And, why is she still there? 3) Skipping CIA briefs, where questions for clarity could be asked. 4) Not recognizing the significance of the 11th anniversary of 9/11/2001. 5) Having the only western Ambassador in Libya, his cohorts France and the UK wisely removed theirs.
I am put in mind of a cartoon where the Tammany Hall crooks are pointing in a circle. Only this circle is very small.
Hurt Obama? No, I think he doesn’t give a rip about any of this, he’s just going thru the motions, it’s just another bump in the road for him. People die and Obama lies and his faithful-followers believe it, because the media promotes it. The truth of the matter is that it’s now being reported that the so-called safe-house that the Ambassador and two Seals were killed in was actually a CIA office full of classified documents and reports about all the various groups in the region, plus emails and communications with D.C. That building held classified intel. The American response should have swift and deadly, instead weeks passed before the FBI could investigate because, let me get this straight, it was too unstable. For God sake, we are called a super-power, what is super about sitting on your hands and apologizing while medieval punks murder members of your family and burn your house down while doing the Snoppy-Allah dance? Uncle Sam is becoming Aunt Samatha. “Liberalism is harmful to your health and can lead to death” The Dems should be required to wear that warning across their foreheads.
Watergate was a cover-up. In retrospect it was nothing. This situation involves the deaths of 4 people…..and perhaps torture of one. It involves several government agencies, all major agencies. It involves our national security. If the president will lie and try to cover up this, where will he stop.? That’s kind of a ridiculous question because he and his cohorts lie about everything already.
I have been having a very uneasy feeling that Americans have absolutely no control over their destiny any more. Uneducated voters can elect a monster and there’s not much the rest of us can do. Racism reigns: the first family treats their role as a ticket to the ultra luxurious life. They have invaded our homes regarding the food we eat and our medical care. Kids are taught the party line in our public schools. Some teachers freely teach them songs regarding the president…..reminding me of the Chinese and their reverential treatment of Mao,
No journalist will stake his/her reputation on an expose a la Watergate…..even if they did, it would receive very limited press. I’m depressed!