Graham, McCain Praise Nomination Of Official Involved In Benghazi Talking Points

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

IGOR BOBIC 2:32 PM EDT, FRIDAY MAY 24, 2013

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ) on Friday praised President Barack Obama's intent to nominate State Department veteran Victoria Nuland as the next assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs.

“Ambassador Victoria Nuland has a long and distinguished record of service to our nation in both Republican and Democrat Administrations," they said in a statement. "She is knowledgeable and well-versed on the major foreign policy issues as well as respected by foreign policy experts in both parties. We look forward to her upcoming confirmation hearings in the United States Senate.”

Nuland is a career Foreign Service officer with 29 years of experience at State, including a stint as principal deputy national security advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003. She was most recently in the news for her role in editing the now much-ballyhooed talking points the administration used in the aftermath of the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 attack upon a diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

In emails released by the White House, Nuland objected to the inclusion and warnings of a terror group thought to be responsible prior to an official investigation because of concerns they could negatively impact her department.

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/graham-mccain-praise-victoria-nulands-nomination-to-state

[SummerSnow]

1. kiss ass Graham

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. who the hell nominated her?

[DonViejo]

4. The President. nt

[tularetom]

6. Yeah, and why?

Appears to me she was as responsible as anybody for the CF that this turned into.

[ISW]

3. I smell a skunk...

Either that or these two have over dosed on nice pills!

[louis-t]

5. Well, as you can see, she was only trying to cover

HER ass, so grammy and grampy respect that.

[alp227]

7. "Democrat Administrations"????

Really, Rush speak from senators? that phrase alone knocks out any sincerity.

[TwilightGardener]

8. Nuland is married into the Royal Neocon Kagan family. They helped come up with PNAC.

That she's a member of this admin AT ALL is suspect. But no wonder Goober and McCrazy love her.

[TwilightGardener]

9. Also, note how Lindsey and Johnny hated Susan Rice and wouldn't allow her to be SoS

but are fighting for this neocon dingbat. It's all who you're married to. I'm just disappointed that Obama is hiring her for ANYTHING. All Kristol and Kagan disciples should have been cleaned out--certainly not promoted.

[bahrbearian]

11. Thanks for the info, Which Kristol and which Kagan ?

Bill Kristol and Elena Kagan ?

[TwilightGardener]

15. I think married to Robert Kagan.

[karynnj]

19. I suspect it is really politics - attacking Rice attacks Clinton/Obama and is an attempt to regain

The "Republicans are better at national security" card.

She is NOT a new hire for the State Department. She is a career foreign service person. She was the spokesperson until she was replaced by a woman that Kerry brought in who had worked for him before. Being the spokesperson for the State Department is a very prominent job. We all saw parts of briefings on state department issues that were covered on cable. I admit that I knew nothing about her personally and never saw her say anything that seemed at odds with Clinton/Obama policy.

Her new job actually may give her LESS contact with the President and with the Secretary than this one. At any rate, the President and his national security team - which she was not on then and not on now - will determine the policy. In Kerry, the President has a person with more foreign policy ideas, vision and experience between Nuland and him. I doubt that Nuland (or her family) will have influence on either the secretary or President on foreign policy.

[karynnj]

12. Uneasy as I am of her connections, she is a career foreign service professional

Last edited Sat May 25, 2013, 10:11 AM - Edit history (3)

and she was the spokesperson of the Hillary Clinton state department.

As noted in the OP, This position needs Senate confirmation. I would caution that we wait until then before questioning her appointment. She may not hold her husband's opinions. Additionally, in this job, as in her role as spokesperson, she will work to achieve the department's (and ultimately the President's) foreign policy.

I don't recall that she did a poor job representing Clinton over the first term. Her actions - misguided as they were - on the famous talking points were to protect the state department. I do think that if Hillary had had ANY problems with her, she would have been "promoted out" and replaced years ago.

As to her influencing foreign policy from the new position, I would suggest that this is likely not a big cause for concern. The Obama administration's reputation is that they tightly control foreign policy out of DC. In addition, between her position and Obama, there is a highly skilled, foreign policy expert, whose knowledge and interest go back to the early 1960s - Secretary of State Kerry, who is far more likely to have Obama's ear.

[TwilightGardener]

16. Actually, I didn't have real concerns about her until Johnny Mac and Lindsey and

JOHN BOLTON defended her nomination. Something disturbing and extremely hypocritical of their support for her.

[karynnj]

17. True, but many career professional are supported by people in both parties

Last edited Mon May 27, 2013, 09:02 AM - Edit history (1)

I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at her connections and her prominence in the Clinton State Department. However, I never saw any new briefing she did as anything other than what Obama/Clinton would have wanted her to do. I also watched the briefings she did after Kerry took office with more attention - both because I then knew who she was (I didn't before) and it was JK.

What is interesting is that someone should question the Senators on why they have no problem with her lobbying for the very changes to the talking points that they think disqualify Susan Rice for anything. The hypocrisy is NOT so much their support of Nuland, who appears to be a career foreign policy officer, but desire to use a political person who they see as having helped the President avoid Benghazi being a HUGE issue in the election.

To me, Obama was incredibly lucky that Romney by going crazy - conflating the situation in Cairo with the killing the night it happened - really killed the issue for the Republicans. He was so over the top that they could not capture the "grown up" position - that annoys the hell out of me - like they sometimes have. Imagine that Romney would have made a Presidential statement that his thoughts were with the families of those killed and those responding to riots in Cairo and then said that he did not want to politicize this by speaking of the need to think more carefully of how to use our diplomats and to keep them safe. (In one sentence politicizing it as he says he won't) Had he done this the focus would have been in the worst place for us. The media looking at how "we failed". This seemed to be where McCain was trying then to take this.

As to the video, it was not Rice speaking of it, or Clinton or Obama speaking of it; it was the Republicans trying to create an issue I still do not understand. I would bet the vast majority of voters also did not understand how the proximate cause of the attack changed the main issue - an ambassador was killed and a consulate destroyed.

In a way, these two voting to confirm her, confirms that the change in the talking points was not the real issue - politics and winning were. (Consider that all but 3 Republicans voted for Kerry as SoS even giving him high praise in some cases - even though in 2004 they called him every (bad) name in the book. Suddenly, he was capable, intelligent and thoughtful and (per McCain) had a very accomplished Senate career. )

[NCarolinawoman]

18. Very thoughtful post.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. I was also wondering about that

[DallasNE]

10. What A Difference A Couple Of Weeks Make

She wrote one of the emails Republicans doctored, apparently feeling the need to go after her. And today it is all hugs and kisses. Now if this isn't proof that Benghazi is over I don't know what is. Oh, I'm still waiting for ABC to release the name of the Republican(s) that doctored those emails.

[cynzke]

14. No political skin

off their noses. The Tea Party will do all the nasty work during the confirmation hearings. This is like the nice neighbors who have vicious dogs