RICE: Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack… Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don’t want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it’s important for the American people to know our best current assessment.
It is not Rice’s assessment, but the Director of National Intelligence’s assessment that McCain is criticizing. On the 28th of September, they issued a statement saying that they initially thought the attack “began spontaneously” and that new information caused them to come to a new conclusion. How hard is this for Republicans like McCain (who’s gotten it wrong by rushing in head first time and time again) to understand?
McCain tried all of the Fox talking points about Rice (which aren’t worth repeating), and then suggested that perhaps she could be cleared via a select investigative committee for “misleading” the American people. No word yet on whether McCain regrets picking a secessionist supporter as his VP, or if he thinks perhaps he should be investigated for recklessly misleading the American people that his pick was qualified and/or mentally capable of being a Vice President. From many accounts, she was neither.
McCain also said at minimum Rice was “not being very bright.” We are unclear what the problem is, if indeed the Senator does think this, unless the Senator has buried the painful memories of his Vice Presidential pick Sarah Palin. Palin thought a VP got to tell the Senate what to do, thought we shared a border with Iraq, and didn’t know the difference between North and South Korea. Sarah Palin was stumped by Katie Couric when asked what she read to keep informed. Palin never got over that “gotcha”.
But McCain should take great comfort in the knowledge that in Republican circles, being bright is only a detriment to service as a puppet to the elite. Furthermore, as he set about trying to prove in 2008, being bright isn’t a qualification for being a heartbeat away from the Presidency in the GOP.
Today, the Senator told CBS News that he would block Ambassador Susan Rice’s confirmation if President Obama nominates her as the next Secretary of State, saying she’s ‘not being very bright’ and ‘not qualified.’
Perhaps, but rumor has it Susan Rice has actual foreign policy experience that expands past what she can see from land here in America.Watch here via CBS:
McCain said of Rice, “she’s not qualified.” This he based not on her ability to see Putin rearing his head over Alaska, but on the more subtle notion that Rice got something wrong about Libya when speaking the to the media. Specifically, McCain faults her for asserting that the attack was spontaneous in her initial media appearances. This, of course, was her knowledge based on the intelligence provided.
Here’s a refresher for McCain, who should know a bit about protocol by now — on her September 16 appearance in front of the media (emphasis mine):
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