Shortly after arriving checking into my hotel in Maryland yesterday, I saw President Obama’s defense of UN Ambassador Susan Rice in his press conference.

If Obama could defend Rice’s explanation of the Benghazi attacks then what can’t he defend? He was in audacious form:

As I’ve said before she made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me and I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the UN Ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous.

Obama speaks of the White House as if he didn’t reside there. Rice wouldn’t be on TV talking about Benghazi without the White House’s blessing, without Obama’s blessing. 

Rice attributed the attacks on the Muhammad YouTube video on September 16th. Patrick F. Kennedy, Undersecretary of Diplomatic Security was telling congressional staffers this was terrorism the day after the attacks. Is Obama telling us that both the White House and Rice were unaware of Kennedy’s briefings? Or is Obama simply laying all this at the feet of former CIA Director David Petraeus?

If Obama says that McCain and Graham should go after him rather than Rice does that mean he would be willing to testify in front of their committee? Methinks McCain and Graham should summon him. If they do, I bet Obama invokes executive privilege. That would be outrageous. 

In any case, given how vociferous Obama was in his defense of Rice I think it’s pretty clear that she will be his nominee for Secretary of State.