Defending United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice even more than the White House, Time's Joe Klein Monday declared on MSNBC that not only was terrorism not part of the initial attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, but that slain Ambassador Chris Stevens had enough security despite reports he had begged for more.
"The talking points were accurate," he said of Rice's initial claim that the attack and slaying were sparked by an an anti-Muslim movie, not terrorism, a claim later revised by the administration. On the issue of more security, Klein said of Stevens, "he wasn't requesting -- the level of security that existed in Benghazi was the level of security that the ambassador wanted."
Klein later Monday doubled down on his "Morning Joe" comments with an entry in his "In the Arena" blog. "What you had was a local street gang-a radical militia-using the excuse of the anti-Islamic film and the cover of riots in Cairo to stage a spontaneous attack on the consulate. When the thugs realized that security at the consulate didn't exist, they came back, less spontaneously, with heavier weapons," he wrote.
His comments prompted host Joe Scarborough to mock Klein. He asked Klein if Obama had recently invited him to play golf, a very rare offer, "because you are just gobbling up the talking points like Thanksgiving turkey."
Media Research Center Vice President of Research Brent Baker explains our pick: "I wish I could blame this on Klein becoming delusional from the tryptophan in eating too much turkey. Sadly, however, ignoring all the evidence -- and even how the administration has disavowed Rice's storyline - proves the election hasn't faded Obamamania amongst his sycophantic journalists eager to discredit any roadblocks on Rice's way to becoming Secretary of State."
Rating: Five out of five screams.
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