EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL
With all eyes on President Obama ahead of Tuesday's second presidential debate... U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to be lending a hand on the issue of diplomatic security.
During a trip to Peru Clinton said it was her responsibility to keep diplomats safe whilst abroad--a reference to the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last month.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYING:
"...to try to make sure that we intervene with governments we did everything we could to keep our people safe which is my primary responsibility."
The details surrounding the attack in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died have been scant.
A few White House blunders over the handling of the incident--first attributing the attack to violence over an anti-Islam film-- then suffering through critical congressional testimony about a lack of security-- has given Republicans a free talking point during this election season.
And they've hit the issue hard.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE MITT ROMNEY SAYING :
"He's doubling down on denial and we need to understand exactly what happened as opposed to have people brush this aside."
But in shouldering the blame, Clinton is taking one for the team. And scolding Republicans not to turn it into a political gotcha.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYING:
"I don't we want to get into any blame game. I really believe that tragedies like what happened in Benghazi should be viewed in a non-political way everybody should pull together as Americans."
