Sally Zelikovsky at The American Thinker had the same reaction to the two minute set up from the Obama-Crowley exchange. If media impartiality were even a remote factor in today’s world, this would be a major storm.

Obama finished his 2+ minute answer to the initial question with ‘You know that I mean what I say.’

Romney then gave his 2+ minute response starting out saying many days passed before we knew if the Benghazi tragedy was a terror attack or resulted from a spontaneous demonstration. He asserted that we KNOW it was a terror attack but took a long time before the American People were told that and it was either misleading or they didn’t know and, if the latter, we have to ask why. So far so good.
Romney then continued that after 5 days, the Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice went on TV and said the attack was because of the spontaneous demonstrations. Romney asked again: ‘How could we not know?’

He then recited how on the day following the death of Ambassador Stevens (which is the first time this has happened since 1979) when ‘apparently’ we didn’t know what happened, the President went to Vegas and the following day to Colorado for campaign events–which actions have symbolic and possibly material significance. He pointed out it was clear this was not a demonstration and called into question the President’s Middle East policy. Romney then used this opportunity to go into some detail about Obama’s failed Middle East policy.

Candy Crowley then asked the President about the buck stopping at his desk and he launched into his tirade about being offended by Romney calling him out the Sunday morning after the murders and said ‘The day after, I stood in the Rose Garden and told people this was an act of terror.’

Bam! For a lawyer — any lawyer–even one who never practiced like Romney — this is the stuff movies are made of. This is the kind of admission we are always sniffing out and Obama, a lawyer himself who was obviously trying his hand at Clintonian hair splitting, offered it up knowing full well that’s not what he said. And he got Candy to go along with him. Bad Candy.

But before the pundits continue to beat up on Romney for lost opportunities and a flubbed answer, Romney pounded Obama on his Rose Garden claims. With deadly seriousness he looked at Obama and said ‘I think it’s interesting the President just said something which is that on the day after the attack, he went into the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror.”‘

Obama interjected: ‘That’s what I said.’ Bam!

Romney continued: ‘You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror; it was not a spontaneous demonstration. Is that what you are saying?’

Obama haughtily invited Romney: ‘Please proceed Governor.’ Bam!

Romney responded: ‘I wanna make sure we get that for the record because it took him 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.’ Bam!

At which point Obama called for Candy to ‘Get the transcript’ and she came to his rescue ruling that Obama did say it was an act of terror–applause–and that Romney was also correct that it took 14 days for clarification–applause.

Romney, with a bit of stuttering, says: ‘The administration indicated that this was a reaction to a video and was a spontaneous reaction….It took them a long time to say this was a terrrorist act by a terrorist group….On Sunday…the Ambassador to the United Nations went on the Sunday television shows and spoke about how this was a spontaneous reaction.” Bam! Bam!

Obama–desperately wanting to change the subject–announced ‘I’m happy to have a longer conversation about foreign policy….’ as Candy tells them that she wants to move on. And the President concedes ‘Ok, I’m happy to do that, too…. I just wanna make sure all these wonderful folks are gonna have a chance to get some of their questions answered.’

And now we run the tape. And note this when you watch. When Obama says, “get the trasncript” Crowley the moderator, actually seemed to have the transcript in her hand because she pulls a bundle of papers out which she is holding just as she declares that “he did indeed call it an act of terror” (1:30 in the video). A setup?