FIRST: WASHINGTON POST: “Clinton, back in the Benghazi hot seat, withstands Republicans’ grilling”
Hillary Rodham Clinton easily parried barbed Republican questioning Thursday about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, emerging unscathed from a high-stakes congressional hearing with a smooth and sometimes poignant account of her role in the event that has loomed as among her largest political liabilities…
Democrats defended Clinton’s leadership and repeatedly accused Republicans of using the special investigative panel to hunt for damaging information about her…
Republicans sought to establish a link between Clinton’s ¬decision-making — before and during the attacks — and the four deaths, but they clearly struggled to build a theory of the case that she was directly responsible or negligent.
SECOND: DAILY BEAST: The Benghazi Committee just adjourned after an 11-hour marathon. It began at 10am today and got heated at times as Hillary Clinton was questioned for hours. “The fewer the interruptions, the quicker I can get done,” Rep. Trey Gowdy said as the questioning drew to a close. After the hearing was over, Gowdy wasn’t sure that he got all that much new information. “I don’t know that she testified that much differently today than the previous times she’s testified,” he said.
THIRD: NEWSLANC: What did he expect? The basic facts won’t change no matter how many hearings.
We watched a couple of hours of testimony over the course of the day. Clinton was unflappable and very impressive. We especially were pleased with her endurance despite her being three days shy of 68 years of age.
Nevertheless, we were mindful that she at an age subject to a stroke, heart attack or other serious ailment over the next five years. It is very important that the Democrats set aside political considerations and choose a fully qualified candidate for the vice-presidency.
Perhaps Clinton’s worse nightmare would be facing a youthful Marco Rubio.
America’s worst nightmare would be four years of Hillary following 8 years of Obama, assuming we last that long.
I think that nominating Rubio would be the smartest thing the Republican Party could do. If they can ever stop the clown show and get their act together. But perhaps a cold shower is just what the Republican base needs to learn its lesson. Perhaps they will come back more sober in 4 years.
Unless something stunning happens, the GOP is done. The Tea Party has taken over and most of us have seen the damage they’ve done and the money they’ve wasted. We may be quiet but we pay attention. A Dem will take the White House in 2016 unless they pick a real doozy as a running mate (a la McCain/Palin).
The GOP ‘may’ recover, eventually, but not until they get rid of the Tea Partiers who have taken the Republican Party in the wrong direction. They come across as ignorant, racists and seem far more concerned with what is going on between the legs of woman than the direction the Country is heading in. It doesn’t matter if Jane Doe uses her healthcare to get birth control, it DOES matter if unemployment goes above 10%. They need to get their priorities straight and actually work to get the USA back on track.