At the end of Joe Klein's stupefying defense of Susan Rice and the Obama admin's misinformation campaign on the Benghazi outrage on today's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough asked Time's Klein whether President Obama had invited him to play golf, "because you are just gobbling up the talking points like Thanksgiving turkey." H/t NB reader Carmel.
Here were some of Klein's astounding assertions: There are no unanswered questions about Benghazi. Ambassador Stevens had all the security he wanted. Rice's talking points were "absolutely accurate"--it was a spontaneous demonstration by extremists. Al qaeda was not involved in the attack. Not clear that reports from Stevens asking for more security exist. View the video after the jump.
Bonus Coverage: How's this for some stuffing for Klein's turkey? He also argued that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Morsi is a "moderate," well, except for his current grab for dictatorial power thingy.
SCARBOROUGH: So Joe, all reports that Chris Stevens had written that he needed more security are false reports?
KLEIN: I don't know, I don't know whether those reports exist.
MIKE BARNICLE: The question with regard to Susan Rice would be this: who hung her out to dry? Who allowed her to say basically the same thing for a period of two weeks? Did no one--not General Petraeus, not anyone in the intelligence community --
KLEIN: The talking points were accurate!
BARNICLE: For two weeks?
KLEIN: They were absolutely accurate!
SCARBOROUGH: Were they really?
KLEIN: They were. It was a spontaneous demonstration by extremists --
SCARBOROUGH: By al Qaeda?
KLEIN: No, not by al Qaeda, by the militant --
SCARBOROUGH: So was al Qaeda involved in this attack or not?
KLEIN: Anybody can call themselves al Qaeda. The militias -- you have a local --
SCARBOROUGH: Was al Qaeda involved in this attack or not?
KLEIN: No, it was not.
JOHN HEILEMANN: She very purposefully, on those Sunday shows, was asked whether it was an act of terror. She would not use that language. Very purposefully on five different Sunday shows. The administration was asked for nine days whether it was an act of terror. The administration: Jay Carney, the President, declined to call it an act of terror.
KLEIN: He called it an act of terror the day after --
HEILEMANN: He did not.
SCARBOROUGH: Oh my God, Joe. Seriously? Hold on, we have a more important question to ask here, John. Has the President invited you to go play golf?
KLEIN: No.
SCARBOROUGH: Because you are just gobbling up the talking points like Thanksgiving turkey.
