I arrived a little bit late to catch the ongoing drama of the Benghazi hearing which the Republicans have been harping on ever since the ambassador and personnel were killed in Libya. Hillary Clinton decided to be a key witness in giving testimony to the events of the attack on the consulate in Benghazi today. I took time to watch the proceedings having listened to discussions about it from Trey Gowdy on Greta Van Susteren's On the Record show.
The Republicans were very thorough and hard hitting in their questioning the former Secretary of State while the Democrats were totally sympathetic to the point of absurdity declaring even that there was no reason to have such a hearing.
The Republicans naturally countered that the four lives were worth whatever price it cost when the Democrats complained about the expense of the hearing and the time spent collecting information about the events to learn the truth.
The truth about Hillary Clinton came about eventually as she was proved to have changed her stories to the Egyptians, her family, and to the American public. To the Egyptians and her family she admitted that it was a preplanned attack but to the general public she pretended that it had been the result of a provocative video that was being distributed to the world at large to see. It did anger the Muslim world enough to be thought as a good cover for what was a preplanned organized terrorist attack.
The Republicans successfully proved that Clinton had no real interest in Chris Stevens at all, not remembering him at some function where he was present, and not bothering to talk with him after his appointment as ambassador.
The problem is that the ambassador had requested security but his requests were ignored or forgotten. It was never made clear to me whether it was because Hillary's staff did not pass on the requests to her, or that she simply ignored them. In my opinion, that answer was never fully given. She was pursued to explain if she had ever talked with him on the phone. Susan Brooks of Indiana pointed out that no phone calls were on record despite Hillary answering that she must have talked with him at some time. Clearly, Hillary could not remember Chris Stevens very well at all after he replaced his successor who she recalled well.
Yet, despite her indifference to him she protested that he could find her 24/7 if he had wanted. Why then did his requests for extra security go without response but during that same time, her interest was focused on emails from Simon Blumenthal who was giving her not so great advice about Libya. This little discourse on Simon Blumenthal brought out the fact that all his advice when sent to the White House went without identifying him as the source of the information. This is because Simon Blumenthal had been rejected to work for the Obama administration by Obama and his advisor, Rahm Emanuel. Blumenthal hated the Obama administration it is learned and so Hillary did not want Obama to learn that she was feeding him information directly from him.
So the game of Republican versus Democrat played out all morning, afternoon, into evening while the two parties wrestled with one another, one jabbing and probing, and the other consoling and defending the much beleaguered former Secretary of State.
At one point in the series of questions which Hillary handled adroitly and readily without pause, she finally broke into a fit of hysterical laughter at a question leveled at her. Twice in the proceedings she found laughter to be her only release from a tense and trying question and answer session. Near the end, Hillary suffered a coughing problem, probably due to the fact that she had carried the entire show on her shoulders talking more than any other single player. Her voice went a bit raspy until she found relief when someone finally fetched her glass of water to drink, and lozenge to comfort her dry throat.
However, Hillary is a member of the court, has been a practicing attorney for years, and knows how to play the game well. The courtroom is a form of theatre, and the proceedings are very much like a play. She offered to be a witness knowing that she would be THE STAR.
All these attorneys must be taken with a grain of salt since they are conditioned so well to perform in a court room setting. My favorite line was when Hillary pointed out the difference between courtroom behavior and governmental behavior. It turns out that government is the place where one can pull the wool over the eyes of the pubic and the electorate, but court room behavior has tighter rules to follow. When Gowdy tried to chastise her by not placing identifiers on a document for the President to read, he reminded Hillary that in a court of law that would not be allowed. She countered with the statement, "This is not a courtroom. This is government!" What a statement! I roared with laughter.
The hearing is called political theatre by political analysts. One commentator called it Hillary's audition for the presidency. Many commentators later appeared to be in awe of her performance calling her presidential, cool, calm, and reliable. Critics knocked her for laughing it up, raising her hands in the air as in victory, and acting overly elated when discussing the demise of four men in the service of their country. Whether she should be criticized for that depends upon whether you are concerned about her presidential aspirations or whether you care about the men who lost their lives and their families who were sitting in that very audience able to see her act like a woman in a sporting event. Obviously, her behavior exposed her inner insecurities and fears since she seemed to think that she had done well. Sadly, her concern about the families appears to mirror her concern for Ambassador Stevens.
The Republicans who made the boat rock a bit were Susan Brooks, Martha Roby, Jim Jordan, and Lynn Westmoreland. Oddly enough, their intensive grilling helped Hillary more than hurt her. She finally found her sparring partners to sharpen her skills.
Hillary and Trey Gowdy are strange partners in crime as they both complemented one another. Trey Gowdy is a small, shrewish type man with a sharp, penetrating voice that exposes an even more razor like mind. HIs legal skills are impressive, a little man with a huge voice and humongous brain. Amazing to see the two of them trade barbs back and forth. Hillary is a large woman, wearing her hairstyle in a fully blown blonde color. At her age, she should let her white hair appear natural but she is competing with young women and does not want her approaching 70 to frighten the young away. She is a grandmother, and I believe that is where she should focus her future. While i do respect her stonewalling technique today, I do not find her ready or able to fulfill the responsibilities of a capable and competent president. Even though she has already spent her time in that co-presidency she performed with her husband Bill Clinton.
It must have been very frustrating to her that she could only play the role of First Lady instead of First President. Now she wants the public to give her another chance at doing things her way in the White House once again. I say enough already! No more of the Clinton Family or the Bush Family in the White House. This country has suffered too much already from both families. I certainly do not want a male Monica Lewinsky to show up to expose Hillary for her indiscretions. It is obvious to me that men love women who are in power positions and little doubt that she has her share of admirers and fans who fantasize about her even if she is a grandmother figure now. Men are always hot after women! And nothing so exciting as a powerful woman to brag about!
For $47 million dollars and 17 months, the Benghazi hearing may soon be nearing a close. But more witnesses are to be called. Only four men are gone forever, and their families are still crying about their loss. Perhaps the truth will be learned yet.
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