# Will "BHENGAZI-GATE" screw up Hitlery's chances in 2016? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 9, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888 "2013-05-09T13:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/581 "2013-05-22T17:51:51Z")
Obama’s approvals have actually improved over this period, just like Clinton’s did during his frickin’ _impeachment_. No, they’ll never learn. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/582 "2013-05-22T17:53:59Z")
At any rate, these events [have not affected Obama’s popularity](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-rating-steady-amid-controversies-likely-buoyed-by-rising-economic-hopes/2013/05/20/5509c03e-c17f-11e2-bfdb-3886a561c1ff_story.html?hpid=z2). > [@](#): > > Majorities of Americans believe that the Internal Revenue Service deliberately harassed conservative groups by targeting them for special scrutiny and say that the Obama administration is trying to cover up important details about the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans last year. > > But a new Washington Post-ABC News poll also finds that allegations of impropriety related to the controversies have yet to affect President Obama’s political standing. > > The president’s approval rating, at 51 percent positive and 44 percent negative, has remained steady in the face of fresh disclosures about the IRS, the Benghazi attack and the Justice Department’s secret collection of telephone records of Associated Press journalists as part of a leak investigation. > > A bare majority of Americans say they believe that Obama is focused on issues that are important to them personally; just 33 percent think so of congressional Republicans. Brighter assessments of the economy may be one reason that the president has been able to weather controversies. For the first time since the 100-day mark of Obama’s first term, most say they are optimistic about the direction of the economy. More than half, 56 percent, say the economy is on the mend, the most to say so in polls since 2009. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/583 "2013-05-22T21:35:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If you believe Republicans …you are very stupid and deserve what you get. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to organize a political party around phony outrages and vote manipulation, but that’s the entire agenda now. ---
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/584 "2013-05-23T04:43:02Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Unfortunately for you, there was never a spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO, so for Rice to state that it was so is not the truth. > > If the CIA agreed with the final version of the talking points, why did Petraeous not sign off on them? Petraeus was busy knocking knocking off Taliban in Waziristan & Al Qaeda in Yemin Perhaps … The Deputy Director signed off… I am sure that is allowed. But unfortunately for you the released emails show that you are wrong. All we need to know now is whether you will now with the emails available, respect the truth. And here it is: IT was not the FINAL VERSON that the CIA merely signed off on. The spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO was in the original drafts prior to any editing by the White House and State Dept. > [@](#): > > What the e-mails say: > > Page 15 (4:42 p.m.): CIA sends out a new draft for review before sending to the White House. > > ORIGINAL CIA revised draft of TALKING POINTS (9/14/12 04:42 PM): > > (See Link to Ibtimes for scroll of 100 originals released by the White House.) > > "We believe based on currently available information that the **demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo** and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. Consulate and subsequently its annex. > > This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and currently available information continues to be evaluated. > > On 10 September we warned of social media reports calling for a demonstration in front of the Embassy and that jihadists were threatening to break into the Embassy. > > The crowd almost certainly was a mix of individuals from across many sectors of Libyan society. That being said, we do know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qa’ida participated in the attack. > Page 21 (5:09 p.m.): A version of talking points is sent to the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at 5:09 p.m. This is the second draft of the talking points, when the reference to “attack” was changed to “demonstrations.” > > [Newly Released Benghazi Emails Reveal Talking Points Timeline [FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT] | IBTimes](http://www.ibtimes.com/newly-release...script-1262877) (see page 14 and 15 on the scroll of 100 email documents} ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/585 "2013-05-23T13:35:10Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Do you know a single fucking thing about Vietnam? Because the above makes you out to be a total idiot. It was certainly a stupid war engaged for stupid reasons and entered into under cover of lies. And there were endless instances of stupid tactics employed by General officers on down. > > But the big fuckups, the enormous fuckups, the strategic and conceptual fuckups that led to the deaths of 50,000 of my contemporaries (and seven actual friends) were all made by politicians, not by generals. Had the generals had their way, it wouldn’t have been a ‘limited war’, a war of pulled punches. They would have bombed, napalmed, and ‘Agent Orange’d the country into a smoking crater. There wouldn’t have been any of the ‘Take this hill; now give it back; now take it again’ chickenshit that cost so many American lives. Note, I do not suggest it would have made the Vietnam folly into a success for even limited values of success. But if given free rein by the politicians, the generals would surely have fought it in a completely different way. As for how this particular liberal feels about the military or about generals – well, suffice it to say that you haven’t a clue. > > [/hijack] They probably would have done that, which is why the military should NEVER be given carte blanche in fighting wars. If you are a liberal, I see your desire for the betterment of humanity stops outside The US. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/586 "2013-05-23T13:37:38Z")
> [@NotfooledbyW](#): > > Petraeus was busy knocking knocking off Taliban in Waziristan & Al Qaeda in Yemin Perhaps … The Deputy Director signed off… I am sure that is allowed. > But unfortunately for you the released emails show that you are wrong. > > All we need to know now is whether you will now with the emails available, respect the truth. > > And here it is: > > IT was not the FINAL VERSON that the CIA merely signed off on. The spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO was in the original drafts prior to any editing by the White House and State Dept. \ Hardly a cast iron statement of facts. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/587 "2013-05-23T13:40:04Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > At any rate, these events [have not affected Obama’s popularity](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-rating-steady-amid-controversies-likely-buoyed-by-rising-economic-hopes/2013/05/20/5509c03e-c17f-11e2-bfdb-3886a561c1ff_story.html?hpid=z2). Hardly surprising as it seems not many Obama supporters actually know where or what Benghazi is, and some die hard Obama supporters don’t even know who the VP is, hahahahahahahaha. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/588 "2013-05-23T13:43:22Z")
As opposed to **Doggo** , who doesn’t know…well, anything. When he leaves the planet, the net intelligence of the species will go up. Unless someone was stupid enough to breed with him. Then all bets are off. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/589 "2013-05-23T14:19:17Z")
**Doggo** , you asserted that **Lobohan** believes generals “never make a mistake” and offered Vietnam as an example of “a general” making a mistake. Then you claimed “liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles {sic} most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them”. After I disemboweled your rank stupidity with regard to Vietnam and destroyed your argument about generals, you reply with > [@Doggo](#): > > They probably would have done that, which is why the military should NEVER be given carte blanche in fighting wars. > If you are a liberal, I see your desire for the betterment of humanity stops outside The US. Whatever the fuck does this mean? I recognize all the words as valid elements of the English language, but strive as I may, I cannot parse the meaning of your word strings, nor divine any connection between them and what I said. No, never mind, take mine as a rhetorical question, don’t even attempt to explain your latest asininities on this subject. Return if you will to the subject of the OP, on which you are having your head nicely handed to you already. I need a few more good laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/590 "2013-05-23T15:11:11Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > \ > Hardly a cast iron statement of facts. Well done for noticing that situational data is not immediately magically beamed \*in toto \*directly into the heads of CIA researchers but in fact has to be gathered from remote sources over time, reviewed for reliability and occasionally revised as new information is received. I commend you for your grasp of the bleeding obvious, and for making **NotfooledbyW** ’s point for him. ---
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/591 "2013-05-23T23:04:03Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Hardly surprising as it seems not many Obama supporters actually know where or what Benghazi is, and some die hard Obama supporters don’t even know who the VP is, hahahahahahahaha. I know where Benghazi is and I know how to read the emails that the White House made public and that ability to read common simple language enables me to verify without a shadow of a doubt that any muddle-headed Republican that tries to claim that the WH took down the CIA’s first assessment and reduced it to a pack of lies are themselves spewing all the lies. A political party that lies ‘top down’ to its adherents as much as the Republican/Conservative Party lies should be headed toward failure. This Republican Party Benghazi lies are important since these lies are provable and you can see when some GOP leaders hold back you know they are ashamed when they see their fanatics out their dancing on the graves of four dead Americans serving their nation overseas in a dangerous part of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/592 "2013-05-24T00:07:40Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > **Doggo** , you asserted that **Lobohan** believes generals “never make a mistake” and offered Vietnam as an example of “a general” making a mistake. Then you claimed “liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles {sic} most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them”. > > After I disemboweled your rank stupidity with regard to Vietnam and destroyed your argument about generals, you reply with > > Whatever the fuck does this mean? I recognize all the words as valid elements of the English language, but strive as I may, I cannot parse the meaning of your word strings, nor divine any connection between them and what I said. > > No, never mind, take mine as a rhetorical question, don’t even attempt to explain your latest asininities on this subject. Return if you will to the subject of the OP, on which you are having your head nicely handed to you already. I need a few more good laughs. Perhaps you don’t understand what I wrote because you are thick. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/593 "2013-05-24T00:11:48Z")
> [@NotfooledbyW](#): > > I know where Benghazi is and I know how to read the emails that the White House made public and that ability to read common simple language enables me to verify without a shadow of a doubt that any muddle-headed Republican that tries to claim that the WH took down the CIA’s first assessment and reduced it to a pack of lies are themselves spewing all the lies. > > A political party that lies ‘top down’ to its adherents as much as the Republican/Conservative Party lies should be headed toward failure. > > This Republican Party Benghazi lies are important since these lies are provable and you can see when some GOP leaders hold back you know they are ashamed when they see their fanatics out their dancing on the graves of four dead Americans serving their nation overseas in a dangerous part of the world. And you actually believe anything a politician says, hahahahahahahaha. You must be really stupid! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/594 "2013-05-24T00:14:39Z")
Oooh, _snap_! Wilde? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/595 "2013-05-24T00:27:41Z")
No, Racine. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/596 "2013-05-24T00:27:52Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Oooh, _snap_! Wilde? Churchillian, surely, although there’s some Rabelais to be discerned. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/597 "2013-05-24T00:30:52Z")
Wow, doggo. What an insightful comeback. That was impressive. Do you have a newsletter? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/598 "2013-05-24T00:37:59Z")
I tried reading Doggo’s posts with a funny accent to see if they were an attempt at humor. No dice. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/599 "2013-05-24T00:43:10Z")
I’ve tried reading his posts without an alcohol chaser, and all I’ve got is a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/600 "2013-05-24T01:05:35Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No, Racine. Somebody’s always gotta play the Racine card. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888.md?page=31)