In the Arena

Still More Benghazi

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Seems to me that Andrew Sullivan has nailed the import of the latest email revelations. But there is one point to note for future reference.

I’m not so sure that Nuland’s reference to her “buildings (sic) leadership” means Hillary Clinton. There is a cloud of highly defensive–sometimes to the point of weirdly paranoid–advisers who have always surrounded Clinton. (Think Sid Blumenthal, back in the day). It’s part of the DNA of Hillaryland. In my experience, this over-protectiveness often works to Clinton’s disadvantage. And it will be a real detriment to her presidential campaign, should she choose to launch one.

I’m not sure that Clinton herself forced the talking points massage; but “Hillary Clinton”–the bubble that surrounded the Secretary–may well have.

One other point: the amount of time spent on these talking points was obscene, and not at all unusual in the current Administration, or others in the recent past. The amount of time our leaders spend in spinning rather than governing or leading drives me absolutely nuts.