Hillary Clinton is riding a wave of popularity among Democrats who laud her performance as Secretary of State, but not so much for Republicans and independents, according to the results of a recent
Politico poll.
While it might be expected that Democrats would give her high marks, and Republicans would criticize her, 60 percent of independents rated Clinton's performance as "fair" or "poor," according to the poll results.
Thirty-three percent of independents said Clinton performed "excellent" or "good" in the post, where she served for four years, from 2009 to 2013.
Clinton has especially taken heat for the Obama administration's response to, and explanation for, the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
The administration initially claimed the violent siege on the U.S. Consulate in Libya on Sept. 11, 2012, the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks at the World Trade Center, was sparked by a spontaneous demonstration brought on by an anti-Islam video. It has since been revealed that the attacks were planned.
Republicans have cried foul, accusing a cover-up. Benghazi has spawned numerous investigations and in May, a Congressional committee was formed to investigate the attack.
According to
The Washington Post, Benghazi "badly marred Clinton's record as the United States' top diplomat and represents one of her biggest potential political vulnerabilities should she run for president in 2016."
Last month, during an interview with CNN, Clinton acknowledged many questions about the attack remain unanswered. Libyan jihadist Ahmed Abu Khattala, arrested in June, is the first person to be charged in connection with the attack.
"We want to know who was behind it, what the motivation of the leaders and the attackers happened to be," she said. "There are still some unanswered questions. It was, after all, the fog of war."
And she told
Fox News that "there's no doubt terrorists were involved."
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