NBC: Obama Defending Susan Rice's Phony Benghazi Story Like A 'Dramatic' Movie Moment

Kyle Drennen
November 14th, 2012 5:32 PM
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Following President Obama's Wednesday afternoon press conference, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams continued his longtime obsession with the liberal fantasy film The American President and his eagerness to compare Obama to Michael Douglas's fictional presidential character: "...the President today almost conjuring the wording of Aaron Sorkin from the movie American President, as will be pointed out all day, really decided to throw down." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Referring to Obama's indignation at critics of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who made false statements about the terrorist attack in Libya, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed: "This was President Andrew Shepherd really coming through in the East Room of the White House. Because this was President Obama saying, 'If you want to pick a fight with my U.N. ambassador, and blame her for something that was not her responsibility on Benghazi, then you come after me'....It was dramatic. He is angry."

Mitchell continued: "I know from talking to the White House that they are very angry, they feel Susan Rice is being unfairly blamed, that she was working off of talking points from the intelligence community....[that] she should not be blamed for what she said about Benghazi."

Neither Williams nor Mitchell bothered to detail the mountain of evidence showing Rice's statements about the attack, on all five September 15 Sunday shows, to be patently untrue.

Here is a transcript of the exchange that occurred during November 14 post-press conference coverage:

2:27PM ET

(...)

BRIAN WILLIAMS: And Andrea, there couldn't be more going on right now. There was talk of the fiscal cliff. We have no CIA director. Benghazi's still around. The Israelis took out the head of Hamas today. And then, John McCain said that if the President puts up his U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice, to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, she will be blocked, they'll do everything in their power. That's where the President today almost conjuring the wording of Aaron Sorkin from the movie American President, as will be pointed out all day, really decided to throw down.

ANDREA MITCHELL: This was President Andrew Shepherd really coming through in the East Room of the White House. Because this was President Obama saying, "If you want to pick a fight with my U.N. ambassador, and blame her for something that was not her responsibility on Benghazi, then you come after me, John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Don't come after Susan Rice." It was dramatic. He is angry. I know from talking to the White House that they are very angry, they feel Susan Rice is being unfairly blamed, that she was working off of talking points from the intelligence community. And that in her Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, she should not be blamed for what she said about Benghazi.

(...)