The New York Times editorial board writes of this week’s Benghazi hearing,

The hearing did not prove anything like an administration cover-up or other hysterical allegations of crimes equal to Watergate that some Republicans, such as Representative Steve King and Senator Lindsey Graham, have alleged. Republicans have held numerous hearings and briefings on Benghazi and are threatening to hold even more. It is a level of interest they did not show during George W. Bush’s administration when there were 64 attacks on American diplomatic targets or in the years they spent cutting back diplomatic security budgets.

The real scandal is that serious follow-up on security in Libya is going unaddressed. Congress needs to make sure that State Department budgets for personnel and security improvements are sufficient and that security reforms are put in place as soon as possible.

The Times‘s Andreww Rosenthal states the obvious:

What’s really going on is that Republicans have been salivating for decades for a chance to get revenge for Watergate and Iran-contra. They yell “cover-up” at the drop of a hat. My Facebook post on the Rove video drew a comment on “Mena.” That’s a reference to the nutty idea that the Clintons (and both Presidents Bush) covered up cocaine trafficking and murder in a sleepy Arkansas town of that name. Get ready to hear about how Mrs. Clinton had Vince Foster, a deputy White House counsel for her husband, murdered.

So if the State Department needs congressional Republicans to pay attention to what’s going on in Libya now, maybe someone should leak a memo saying that Vince Foster’s suicide note is being held for ransom in Tripoli, and can be had for a sum roughly equivalent for what is needed for personnel and security improvements. Confirm the President’s Libya ambassador nominee, and maybe they’ll get Monica’s blue dress as well.

As far as the word “terror” goes, Republicans seem to think that standing in front of a camera and saying it makes them look macho, or amounts to a real response to attacks on Americans. Likewise, they think that sending terrorist suspects to military tribunals is “tougher” than trying them in federal courts.

Take care, Mr. Rosenthal. You’re starting to sound like a blogger.