Even in a news environment dominated by melodramatic, often bogus, group narratives, the Susan Rice affair stands out. What began as a tragedy in Benghazi has degenerated into a classic Washington farce, with Fox News and its allies pushing GOP political correctness, politicians faking indignation for TV cameras, and “mainstream” pundits advancing a false storyline for dramatic purposes.

Thank heaven the United States faces no serious foreign policy issues, because otherwise you’d have to think this is a crazy way to choose a Secretary of State. Unless — as my mentor Bob Somerby speculates at his indispensible dailyhowler.blogspot.com website — we’ve degenerated to where the dopiest possible answer to a problem is always the default option.