STEVE KROFT THROWS 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW WITH BARACK OBAMA AND HILLARY CLINTON
Once again, the mainstream media fails to ask hardball questions as infotainment becomes the modus operandi of the working press …
Here is a portion of the 60 minutes transcript that proves that 60 Minutes is no longer the journalistic powerhouse it was with Mike Wallace.
When we come back, the President and Secretary Clinton discuss the disaster in Benghazi and the state of her health.
Hillary Clinton's final days as secretary of state included one of her most difficult. On Wednesday, she spent more than five hours being grilled on Capitol Hill for the security failures in Benghazi that led to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans; the biggest diplomatic disaster of this administration. The Accountability Review led by Admiral Mike Mullen and Ambassador Thomas Pickering found, among many failures, that Stevens' repeated requests for better security never made it to Clinton's desk. And representatives and senators pressed her on whether the administration covered up the nature of the terrorist attack.
[Secretary Clinton: We have four dead Americans, was it because of a protest or was it because of guys going out for a walk and deciding they'll go kill some Americans. What difference-- at this point, what difference does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from happening again, senator.]
Steve Kroft: I want to talk about the hearings this week. You had a very long day. Also, how is your health?
Secretary Clinton: Oh, it's great. It's great. Now, you know, I still have some lingering effects from falling on my head and having the blood clot. But, you know, the doctors tell me that that will all recede. And so thankfully I'm, you know, looking forward to being at full speed.
Steve Kroft: Right, I noticed your glasses are--
Secretary Clinton: Yeah, I have some lingering effects from the concussion that are decreasing and will disappear. But I have a lot of sympathy now when I pick up the paper and read about an athlete or one of our soldiers whose had traumatic brain injury. I'd never had anything like that in my family. And so, you know, I'm very conscious of how lucky I was.
Steve Kroft: You said during the hearings, I mean, you've accepted responsibility. You've accepted the very critical findings of Admiral Mullen and Ambassador Pickering.
As the New York Times put it, you accepted responsibility, but not blame. Do you feel guilty in any way, in-- at a personal level? Do you blame yourself that you didn't know or that you should have known?
Secretary Clinton: Well, Steve, obviously, I deeply regret what happened, as I've said many times. I knew Chris Stevens. I sent him there originally. It was a great personal loss to lose him and three other brave Americans. But I also have looked back and tried to figure out what we could do so that nobody, insofar is possible, would be in this position again. And as the Accountability Review Board pointed out, we did fix responsibility appropriately. And we're taking steps to implement that. But we also live in a dangerous world. And, you know, the people I'm proud to serve and work with in our diplomatic and development personnel ranks, they know it's a dangerous and risky world. We just have to do everything we can to try to make it as secure as possible for them.
Source: Obama and Clinton: The 60 Minutes interview - CBS News
What does “accepting responsibility” mean when we find that the State Department people who were alleged to be punish are still employed and apparently continuing their existing work?
During Wednesday’s House hearing on Benghazi, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) pressed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to explain why the four State Department employees cited for leadership failures prior to the attack were only placed on administrative leave and not fired.
“First, all four individuals have been removed from their jobs,” Clinton began. “Secondly, they have been placed on administrative leave. Thirdly, Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen highlighted the reason why this has been so complicated. Under federal statute and regulations, unsatisfactory leadership is not grounds for finding a breach of duty.” <Source>
What “breach of duty?” How about malfeasance and the responsibility for the unnecessary loss of life of American citizens?
Benghazi penalties are bogus
The four officials supposedly out of jobs because of their blunders in the run-up to the deadly Benghazi terror attack remain on the State Department payroll — and will all be back to work soon, The Post has learned. The highest-ranking official caught up in the scandal, Assistant Secretary of State Eric Boswell, has not “resigned” from government service, as officials said last week. He is just switching desks. And the other three are simply on administrative leave and are expected back.
The four were made out to be sacrificial lambs in the wake of a scathing report issued last week that found that the US compound in Benghazi, Libya, was left vulnerable to attack because of “grossly inadequate” security.
State Department leaders “didn’t come clean about Benghazi and now they’re not coming clean about these staff changes,” a source close to the situation told The Post., adding, the “public would be outraged over this.”
Blah, blah, blah …
Kroft failed to ask simple questions which would have had probative news value.
- Why was Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi on 9/11 after having asked for additional security and noting the inherent danger on the anniversary of 9/11?
- Why was the outpost classified as a “consulate” when it appeared to be under the control of the CIA?
- Mr. President, why did you continue to pursue the story about a “video protest” after the basic facts were known by the military, the CIA and the State Department; and Madame Secretary, why did you continue to repeat these obvious falsehoods?
- Was the United States complicit in providing heavy military weaponry to people who could be considered terrorists?
- Is it possible that the Administration refuses to investigate the matter fully and seek justice because Iran might be involved?
And, there are a number of additional “Mike Wallace” type questions that Kroft could have asked.
Bottom line …
The American people have been betrayed by the mainstream media which no longer seeks to speak truth to power, but to kiss ass in return for a ratings-making interview.
The cover-up continues and the mainstream media is giving them a pass. And, if anyone watched our so-called congressional leadership on CSPAN – they were more into speechifying and asking questions which were not timely, probing or accurate. The whole bunch of these representatives of “We the People” should not be reelected for: one, failing their oath of office, and two, for being corruptly stupid.
I am no longer sure that part of the government is not blackmailing another part of the government as was alleged to have been done under FBI Director Hoover – the ultimate keeper of “official” dirty secrets involving legislators.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS