Obama Lashes Out At Top Republicans Over Benghazi-Linked Criticism Of Susan Rice

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is firing back at a pair of Republican senators who have launched a preemptive attack against his potential nominee for secretary of state, saying that "to besmirch her reputation is outrageous." In a series of media appearances on Wednesday, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) pledged they would do everything in their power to block the possible nomination of Susan Rice, the current ambassador to the United Nations, as secretary of state. The senators have based their objection on Rice's role in disseminating the White House's version of events in the days immediately after the September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi,...