President Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter is no stranger to controversy — she once infamously suggested Mitt Romney may be a felon — but her latest statement is on a whole new level of outrageous.

Speaking on CNN moments ago, Cutter argued that “the entire reason that (Benghazi) has become the political topic it is, is because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.” (Video and transcript at the Washington Free Beacon.)

It should go without saying that the reason why this is an issue is:

— There was a terrorist attack on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 in which a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

– In the aftermath of the attack, the Obama administration publicly attributed it to protests over an amateur anti-Muslim YouTube video, despite evidence to the contrary.

– Documents show that the Obama State Department repeatedly declined requests by diplomats in Libya for more security.

For more, check out our editorial from today.

The best defense that somebody can make of Cutter is that she was just accusing Romney of politicizing a national security issue, as opposed to saying the issue isn’t important. But given that we’re weeks out from the election, and the Obama administration has touted his handling of foreign policy while attacking Romney as a novice, this important national security event is a natural part of the political debate. But Cutter, I suppose, would prefer to talk about the real issues — like Big Bird.