Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), apparently frightened by Democrats playing the race card over his opposition to UN Ambassador Susan Rice for Secretary of State, has now backtracked, saying that Rice could change his mind on her qualifications for the position. Rice has said that “some of the statements [McCain’s] made about me have been unfounded, but I look forward to having the opportunity at the appropriate time to discuss all of this with him.”
McCain told Fox News Sunday that Rice should have “the benefit of explaining their position, and the actions they took … I’d be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her. Why did she say that al Qaeda has been decimated? In her statement, here, on this program. Al Qaeda has not been decimated. They are on the rise. They are all over Iraq. Training camps are in Libya. The are all over Syria and are on the rise in the Middle East and there’s a lot of questions for Ambassador Rice and I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to discuss these with her.”
McCain continued, “I think she deserves the ability and the opportunity to explain herself and her position. Just as she said. But, she’s not the problem. The problem is the president of the United States.”
Nothing has changed about Rice that makes her more qualified or less of an impossibility as Secretary of State. McCain’s just running from political controversy at this point. And that’s bad news for the families of those slain in Benghazi.