Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for Benghazi security: 4 consequences

Will Clinton's mea culpa shield President Obama from Mitt Romney's criticism over Obama's handling of the deadly Libya attack?

President Obama, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, make a statement on the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens on Sept. 12.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN on Monday that she takes full responsibility for security at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where terrorists launched a Sept. 11 assault that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Mitt Romney has stepped up his criticism of President Obama over the attack, suggesting Obama hasn't been up front about what happened. Vice President Joe Biden said in last week's vice-presidential debate that the White House didn't know about requests for more security ahead of the attack. Clinton said Biden and Obama wouldn't have known, because she is the one in charge of State's 60,000-plus people in 275 posts around the world. With the election so close, Clinton said, "I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha." How will Clinton's statement affect criticism of the Obama administration's handling of Benghazi? Here, four consequences:

1. This won't deflect the GOP's attacks

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