Clinton takes Obama off Libya hook

David Jackson | USATODAY

It looks like Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is trying to take the political heat off President Obama over the deadly attack in Libya.

"I take responsibility," Clinton told CNN. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world -- 275 posts."

Clinton spoke as Republican nominee Mitt Romney and allies criticize the administration's handling of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The controversy surfaces amid a close presidential race between Romney and Obama.

One dispute: Vice President Biden's claim in a debate last week that "we did not know" about requests for more security in Benghazi, even though State Department officials have testified to Congress about those requests.

Clinton said security is a State Department responsibility, and there's no reason the White House would know about the situation in Benghazi.

"The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals," Clinton said. "They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs."

The Libya attack may be a topic Tuesday night as Obama and Romney debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. USA TODAY's Catalina provides a preview of the debate.

Another question: The shifting stories about the attack itself. Officials initially attributed it to a protest over an anti-Islam film that got out of hand; later, they called it a pre-planned terrorist attack.

Clinton told CNN:

"In the wake of an attack like this, in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion. And I think it is absolutely fair to say that everyone had the same intelligence. Everyone who spoke tried to give the information that they had. As time has gone on, that information has changed. We've gotten more detail, but that's not surprising. That always happens."

Clinton added: "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game."

From the Associated Press:

"There are three separate investigations into the attack going on now: an FBI probe into the deaths of the four Americans, an independent inquiry by a panel appointed by Clinton and the congressional hearings.

"Stevens was among the four killed in the attack, which came on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Three Republican senators said late Monday that Clinton's claim was "a laudable gesture," but they put the responsibility on President Obama and his national security team.

"'If the president was truly not aware of this rising threat level in Benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team, whose responsibility it is to keep the president informed. But if the president was aware of these earlier attacks in Benghazi prior to the events of Sept. 11, 2012, then he bears full responsibility for any security failures that occurred,' Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said in a statement."