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* Clinton ends 11 hours of testimony before the House Benghazi Committee * Sohn: Benghazi hearing is good day for Hillary * Hart: On Benghazi, Hillary still in accuse-the-accuser mode
Hillary Clinton had to walk several tightropes simultaneously Thursday in her testimony before the House special committee on the 2012 terror attacks on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.
How she managed to straddle the tightropes in the opinion of the American people may go a long way to determine whether she is damaged goods or remains a formidable candidate for president in 2016.
Witness her high-wire act:
* She had to acknowledge being secretary of state at the time of the massacre of four diplomats but claim President Obama always had the final say-so in policy matters.
* She had to display a toughness about the importance of the mission - "When America is absent from unstable places, there are consequences" - but hear how staffers wrote memos about how disengaged she was.
* She had to give the image of a modern-day diplomat but said she did not have a computer in her office and did very little work on email.
* She had to acknowledge the many requests for assistance by the late Ambassador Chris Stevens but admit "I do not believe that he had my personal email."
* She had to remain tough with her questioners but not lose her temper as she did in a previous hearing when she uttered the phrase, "What difference at this point does it make [why the diplomats died]?"
Look for Clinton to return to the campaign trail and portray herself the victim of a partisan attack - committee Democrats were already down with that line - but know this. If a candidate who wants to be taken seriously by the electorate has to dodge and weave and twist and forget and blame to get to a varnished version of the truth, she is not worth taking seriously.