Axelrod Pressed Over Biden's Debate Claims on Libya Attack

David Axelrod, the senior adviser to the Obama campaign, defended the administration?s actions in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Libya, accusing the Romney campaign of exploiting the issue for political gains.

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace hammered Axelrod for 10 minutes on Libya, challenging him over the Obama administration?s reaction to the attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. Axelrod said the administration acted appropriately.

In the vice presidential debate, Joe Biden said the White House was unaware of security concerns at the consulate in Benghazi, saying the administration?s public statements were based on what they were told by the intelligence community. Though he says members of the administration heard the concerns, Axelrod said the White House doesn?t hear reports from every U.S. embassy across the globe.

?There are no doubts that these security measures went into the State Department,? Axelrod said.

When challenged about the president going to a fundraiser in Nevada following the attack in Libya, Axelrod said Obama was in constant contact with his foreign policy advisers. He also said the president is always responsible for what goes wrong.

?At the timeline level, the president of the United States is responsible for everything that happens,? Axelrod said.

Stevens's father told?Bloomberg on Sunday that he was upset by the fact that his son?s death has turned into a political issue.

?It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue,? Jan Stevens said, adding that, ?The security matters are being adequately investigated. We don?t pretend to be experts in security. It has to be objectively examined. That?s where it belongs. It does not belong in the campaign arena.?

Axelrod, citing the story, said Romney was ?working hard to exploit this issue.?

However, Romney campaign senior adviser Ed Gillespie, who appeared on Fox News Sunday after Axelrod, continued the attack. ?What we see is a constantly shifting story from this administration,? he said.

Gillespie claimed Biden ?directly contradicted? testimony from State Department officials in front of Congress this week. He also cautioned, however, that people should wait to the end of the investigation before passing judgment.

On Sunday, Obama campaign senior adviser Robert Gibbs accused Romney of "shoot from the hip diplomacy."

"Let's figure out what happened," he said on CNN's State of the Union. "But you know what, we don't need wingtip cowboys. We don't need shoot-from-the-hip diplomacy."

See all NJ?s Sunday show coverage | Get Sunday show coverage in your inbox

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/axelrod-pressed-over-bidens-debate-claims-libya-attack-094600160--politics.html

packers Dancing With The Stars All Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt space shuttle cam newton Torrey Smith Brother fiona apple