Benghazi-gate: Axelrod defends White House on Libya & Throws Hillary Clinton and State Department Under the Obama Bus

It all depends on what “we”, is … Wasn’t this the White House that promised us transparency? The Obama White House continues the blame game and the buck stops some where else.

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod went on FOX News Sunday and got his lunch handed to him by host Cris Wallace as Axelrod tried to deflect blame from Barack Obama and threw Hillary Clinton under the bus. Axelrod was questioned by Wallace as to Joe Biden’s comment during the VP debate that the White House had no knowledge that requests for security in Libya were rejected. Axelrod stated that the State Department was responsible for embassy security matters. Hmm, now Obama WH trying to toss Hillary Clinton under the bus?

FOX News Sunday (see full transcript HERE):

WALLACE: But, David, just the day before, several State Department officials testified under oath that there were repeated requests for more security that were rejected. What is the vice president talking about?

AXELROD: I think the vice president was talking about what the White House knew. There are embassies all over the world and installations all over the world, and these requests go into the security professionals at the State Department. And there is no doubt, some of these matters went into the security department at the state security agency at the State Department. But it didn’t come to the White House and that what is the vice president was responding to.

WALLACE: So, we’re now getting into a definition of what the word “we” means. When the vice president says “we” he’s not talking about the Obama administration, because, the question was not about what you knew, it is that there were requests for more security. Biden is not talking about the Obama administration. He’s not talking about the State Department.

He’s just talking about himself and the president?

AXELROD: No, I think, Chris. Again, he was talking about was what he, the president knew because these matters were being handled at the State Department.

David Axelrod then tried to skate on the issue and point blame at Mitt Romney for politicizing the issue. UNREAL. A US Ambassador is murdered and three other Americans, the White House appears to be taking part in lies and a cover up if the aftermath and it is Axelrod if accuses others of being political? How is it that the Obama political arm is involved in this story? Talk about political. Chris Wallace ripped Axelrod with his response.

WALLACE: Do you really believe, David, that the concern over Libya is just politics that’s been ginned up by the Romney campaign?

AXELROD: Look, I think there are two separate issues. Obviously, there is a serious issue here. We’ve just been discussing it for several minutes and it’s an essential matter that we get to the bottom of what happened, that we bring the terrorists to justice. This president is totally committed to that.

There is a separate issue of how Governor Romney handled it. I refer you back to the famous 47 percent tape in the spring, where Governor Romney told in private, told his supporters that he was waiting for a crisis, waiting for an incident, to jump in on national security, and, he did.

He jumped in right away the day of these attacks, with half information in a way that was denounced by both Republicans and Democrats. And there is no doubt he is working hard to exploit this issue and I would point to the fact that this morning, in Bloomberg News, Chris Stevens’ dad said that he regretted that people were trying to exploit this issue.

AXELROD: And I think we ought to follow the lead of the ambassador’s family and allow this investigation to run and get to the bottom of it. And, make the adjustments that are necessary.

By the way –

WALLACE: Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. David, wait a minute.

(CROSSTALK)

AXELROD: This interview –

WALLACE: This is the first U.S. ambassador that has been killed since 1979. Susan Rice came on this show and five others and gave the American people a story that turned out not to be true, and you are saying we shouldn’t discuss this. That we should wait for the investigation to be completed?

AXELROD: No. No.

WALLACE: That’s what you just said.

UPDATE I: More bobbing and weaving from Axelrod over Obama’s level of engagement the day of the Benghazi attack via Powerline.

Here are the key exchanges between Wallace and Axelrod:

Q. How soon after the attack did the President meet with the National Security Council, with people from state, with people from the…, the Director of National Intelligence, with all of the various people to try to sort out what happened in Benghazi?

A. Look. We are sorting out what happened there. Understand that the President the day after the attack called it an act of terror and charged everyone with responsibility for getting to the bottom of what happened.