Obama vigorously defends UN envoy Rice, calling criticisms 'outrageous'

President Obama offered a spirited defense of his ambassador to the United Nations at a White House press conference Wednesday, saying Susan Rice’s work has been “exemplary” and challenging senators who are attacking her to instead “go after me.”

Ambassador Rice, who is thought to be at the top of Mr. Obama’s list of candidates to replace a departing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has become the focal point of Republican criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Rice used CIA-provided talking points when she went on national news shows five days after the deadly attack in Benghazi to describe it as a “spontaneous” event that grew out of outrage over an anti-Islam video.

Just before the president’s East Room press conference, his first since his reelection last week, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said they would support using a filibuster if necessary to block Rice if Obama nominates her to higher office.

But Obama, asked if criticisms of Rice would influence any plan he has for her, called it “outrageous” that political leaders are trying to “besmirch” her reputation. He advised critics of the administration’s actions on Benghazi who are going after Rice “because she’s an easy target” to instead go after the top.

“If Senator McCain and Senator Graham want to go after somebody, they should go after me,” Obama said, in remarks that were the most passionate of a press conference that otherwise focused largely on the president’s proposals for avoiding the looming “fiscal cliff.”

Obama said Rice has done “exemplary work” at the UN, adding that she has represented US interests with “skill, professionalism, toughness, and grace.” At the same time, Obama said he has not made any decisions about the slots to be filled on his foreign policy and national security team.

In addition to finding a new secretary of State, Obama now must also name a CIA director to replace David Petraeus, who resigned last Friday amid a scandal over an extramarital affair. Speculation is growing that Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, may also want to move on, and that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is likely to want to leave his post at least by sometime next year.

All of these changes provide Obama with the opportunity to refashion his foreign policy and national security team for a second term. It’s in this context, and given the strong rumors of Obama’s intentions for Rice, that McCain and Graham and other Republicans are voicing their opposition to her becoming secretary of State.

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