ON OBAMA OWING NAKOULA AN APOLOGY:

We’re barraged by new distractions, so let’s catch things that are slipping down the memory hole. It’s not just Nakoula. It’s Chris Stevens. Our ambassador was murdered, and he was murdered after he was targeted and he was not given security.

Shame on those who disrespected Nakoula’s freedom of speech. Their faults are apparent and need to be remembered. But what happened to Chris Stevens? I don’t trust that we’ve learned the whole story. Why wasn’t he protected? Was he an inconvenient man? We saw such an effort to create static around his death. Look — riots over here, here, and here! Offensive video on the internet! Man with a “towel” around his face! And hey check out the most important thing that happened all week: Romney said “47%” to some people back in May!

The very fact that we’re thinking about Nakoula — and futzing with Romney rhetoric — makes me feel that Chris Stevens got stuffed down the memory hole.

Who wanted that forgetting and why?

Well, I have a hunch. Plus, from the comments: “Anybody tries to call himself President who hears an American consulate is under attack and just goes back to bed owes said Ambassador a lot more than an apology.”

Plus: “There aren’t that many assassinations of American officials. I have never seen anything like this one, where we as a people are encouraged to dilute the incident with all these other events of a much more mundane variety. An assassination should stand apart — clear and shocking and in need of precise investigation.” I’m pretty sure that investigation will be designed to ensure that no findings are made until after the election.