Clinton Takes Responsibility For Diplomats' Security ...

Clinton After Benghazi Attack: “I Take Responsibility. ... I'm In Charge Of The State Department's 60,000-Plus People.” Following the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN that she accepts responsibility for the security of State Department employees serving overseas. From CNN.com:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday tried to douse a political firestorm over the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, saying she's responsible for the security of American diplomatic outposts.

“I take responsibility,” Clinton told CNN in an interview while on a visit to Peru. “I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision.”

But she said an investigation now under way will ultimately determine what happened at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed on September 11.

“I take this very personally,” Clinton said. “So we're going to get to the bottom of it, and then we're going to do everything we can to work to prevent it from happening again, and then we're going to work to bring whoever did this to us to justice.” [CNN.com, 10/16/12]

... And Right-Wing Media Figures React By Trashing Clinton As “Doormat,” “Battered Woman”

Dana Loesch: "Hillary Clinton Is The Democrats' Battered Woman." On October 15, CNN contributor Dana Loesch tweeted, “Hillary Clinton is the Democrats' battered woman.”

[Dana Loesch, 10/15/12]

Tammy Bruce: “Liberal Women Are *Trained* To Be Victims.” Conservative radio host Tammy Bruce tweeted, “Liberal women are *trained* to be victims & she *owns* the results of her decisions.”

[Tammy Bruce, 10/15/12]

Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin: Clinton Is "No Feminist, More Like Doormat." Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin tweeted, “Hillary no feminist, more like doormat.” When another Twitter user responded to her statement, she replied, “once you take your Yale law degree and go to Arkansas you basically are putting your career in the hands of others.”

[Jennifer Rubin, 10/15/12]

Limbaugh: Hillary Is A “Doormat,” “Supposed Feminist Leader.” On his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh said of Clinton, “I have never seen a woman so dumped on by men in my life,” adding, “We're talking doormat here. We're talking doormat and supposed feminist leader.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/16/12, via Media Matters]

Fox's Gutfeld: Clinton's “Pantsuit's A Recycled Doormat.” The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld said of Clinton: “Her pantsuit's a recycled doormat.” [Fox News, The Five, 10/15/12]

Right-Wingers Have Long Denigrated Hillary Clinton

Ed Klein: Hillary Clinton Is “Not Looking Good These Days. She's Looking Overweight, And She's Looking Very Tired.” Conservative author Ed Klein said of Clinton: “I don't want to sound anti-feminist here, but she's not looking good these days. She's looking overweight, and she's looking very tired.” Klein agreed with host Brian Kilmeade that Clinton looks “like she's not trying, to be honest.” [Fox News Radio, Kilmeade & Friends, 6/4/12, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh: “All [Hillary Clinton] Is Is A Secretary.” Rush Limbaugh said of Clinton: “Hillary has reached the pinnacle, and all she is is a secretary. She's the secretary of defense -- state, state, whatever, but still a secretary.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 4/26/12, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh: “Too Much Testosterone Causes Divorce. How Is It, Then, That Hillary Clinton Is Still Married?” Discussing a story about how men with elevated levels of testosterone have a higher rate of divorce, Limbaugh said: “Too much testosterone causes divorce, How is it, then, that Hillary Clinton is still married?” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 6/16/11, via Media Matters]

Coulter: “If Americans Can Handle Hillary Clinton's Ankles, They Can Handle” Photo Of Dead Bin Laden. Discussing the issue of whether the government should release a photo of a deceased Osama bin Laden, right-wing pundit Ann coulter said,  “If Americans can handle Hillary Clinton's ankles, they can handle this photo.” [Fox News, Hannity, 5/4/11, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh On DADT Repeal: “Does This Mean Mrs. Clinton Can Finally ... Join The Marines?” Noting that the Obama administration had repealed the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy to allow gays to openly serve in the military, Limbaugh said: “Does this mean Mrs. Clinton can finally fulfill her lifelong dream and join the Marines? I'm just asking.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 12/20/10, via Media Matters]

Mark Levin Calls Clinton “Her Thighness.” Radio host Mark Levin said: “Hillary Rotten Clinton, her thighness, is no better than Dumbo with the big ears.” [ABC Radio Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 7/6/10, via Media Matters]

Dick Morris On Fox: Clinton Is A “Plasticized Creature.” During a Fox News appearance, Dick Morris praised Sarah Palin as “a real, live human being, not a plasticized creature like some wives of former presidents are who run for office.” Morris later said his shot at Clinton was “not only deserved but gratuitous.” [Fox News, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, 11/9/09, via Media Matters]

Limbaugh on Hillary: “The Army, the Marines Do Not Have Uniforms That Fit That Big An Ass.” Limbaugh said that “we are led to believe that” Hillary Clinton “once wanted to join the Marines,” adding, “The Army, the Marines do not have uniforms that fit that big an ass.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 9/22/09, via Media Matters]

Monica Crowley: Hillary Clinton “Will Cut Off Your Manhood.” Fox News contributor Monica Crowley described Hillary Clinton's purported treatment of someone who is, in Crowley's words, “backing the 'hope' guy”: "[I]t will be too bad for you because girlfriend will cut you. She will strap you into the electric chair. Then she will waterboard you. Then she will slowly and methodically pull off each one of your toenails. Then she will deprive you of sleep by blasting 'The Best of the '80s Hair Bands' at you, and then she will cut off your manhood, and then she will throw the switch." [Talk Radio Network, The Laura Ingraham Show, 6/11/08, via Media Matters]

Pat Buchanan: Clinton's Raised Voice Is One “Every Husband In America ... Has Heard At One Time Or Another.”  Pat Buchanan asserted that when Clinton “raises her voice, and when a lot of women do, you know, it's -- as I say -- it reaches a point ... where every husband in America ... has heard at one time or another.” Buchanan later said, “I know that's a sexist comment ... but there's truth to it! ... There's truth to it.” [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 2/26/08, via Media Matters]

Ted Nugent: Clinton Is A “Worthless Bitch.” During a 2007 concert, musician Ted Nugent called Cllinton a “worthless bitch.” He then held up a machine gun and says he told Clinton “you might want to ride one of these into the sunset.” [Media Matters, 8/27/07]

Glenn Beck On Clinton: “She's The Stereotypical Bitch.” Glenn Beck claimed that “Hillary Clinton cannot be elected president because ... there's something about her vocal range.” Beck went on to comment that “she's the stereotypical bitch, you know what I mean?” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 3/15/07, via Media Matters]