Last night, it would have been fun to have two TV screens. Fox claimed to find a smoking gun. MSNBC said all smoke, no gun.
At Politico, Glenn Thrush gives a balanced perspective. Clearly, it was the CIA that did not want mention of terrorism in the talking points, for fear it would compromise the investigation into the attacks, and because any mention of other terror-related incidents in Libya might compromise their on-going operations there. Thus, UN ambassador Susan Rice was sent out with talking points that did not disclose everything the administration knew. in his war memoirs, Churchill observed that in war, truth is such a valuable commodity she must always be attended by a bodyguard of lies. It is wrong to lie to the American people to be sure, and it is uncomfortable, and fodder for the right, that the avoidance of any mention of terrorist links had a political upside for the White House. But, so far, there is nothing in the administration's handling of this event to suggest a scandal.
