But on  deeper level, why did criticism of Susan Rice even provoke Obama at all? Why does he feel so protective of her? She’s a professional in a hard knock career. He isn’t her father or brother, he is her boss. Reputations get besmirched in Washington every day. Obama just won his re-election partly by besmirching the reputation of Mitt Romney, so surely he has no problem with besmirching others when it suits him.

He calls Rice an “easy target,” but his own actions — having her walk point on the Benghazi-movie story on those talk shows — made her a target in the first place.