President Barack Obama called out Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain for their "outrageous" comments saying they would block U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice if she is nominated for secretary of state.
"If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after someone they should go after me," Obama said at a White House news conference on Wednesday. "When they go after the U.N. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me."
Earlier Wednesday, Graham and McCain said they would block Rice's nomination, should it be made, over her characterization of the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Rice was dispatched to several talk shows, where she said the incident involved a "spontaneous" demonstration. Senior administration officials later said Rice was speaking from talking points prepared for official use and the word "spontaneous" was a poor choice to describe what is now understood to have been a terrorist attack.
The assault killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans and was a flashpoint n the just completed presidential election campaign.
Rice is among the potential nominees to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has said she does not wish to serve in Obama's second term but is willing to stay on until her replacement is confirmed by the Senate.
McCain took to the floor of the Senate about an hour after Obama's remarks and said that the president and other statements by officials on the attacks were "not true."
"The president of the United States did not tell the American people the truth about the attacks that took four brave Americans' lives that went on for eight, seven hours, for which we were totally unprepared. Mr. President, four brave Americans died. It has now been eight weeks. The American people have received nothing but contradictory statements from all levels of our government," he said, pounding his hand on the lectern.
McCain charged that "this president and this administration has either been guilty of colossal incompetence or engaged in a cover up, neither of which are acceptable to the American people."
Graham responded to Obama with a sharp statement of his own: "Mr. President, don't think for one minute I don't hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi. I think you failed as commander-in-chief before, during, and after the attack.
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