[J.P.’s Moment of Common Sense on Broad View, KRNG 101.3 FM Reno. Listen live Saturdays at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.]

Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee interviewed three witnesses about last year’s attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.  The outcome of these interviews was never in doubt.  We’ve known for exactly eight months today that President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mishandled the response that night, lied about it afterward, and engaged in a cover-up to protect their political fortunes.

The president had his re-election to worry about, Hillary has plans for 2016, and winning elections was more important than the truth.

Wednesday’s testimony added some new details but the overall incompetence and negligence remains the same.  For instance, we’ve always known the military was told to stand down rather than rescue the folks under attack, but now we know they were told to stand down twice: once early in the attack and then again later.

We also learned why Ambassador Stevens was in Benghazi.  He was there because of Clinton, who refused his requests for additional security but wanted the consulate open as a resume enhancer.  “Look what I did when I was Secretary of State!” she wanted to be able to say.  “I opened the Benghazi consulate while Libya was still in turmoil!”

Ambassador Stevens, eager to make Hillary happy, said he would “make it happen.”

Isn’t there an old saying about the cost of making fools happy?  If there isn’t, there should be.

The one thing that stands out in this disgusting mess is the utter incompetence of anybody who was hired by Obama.  From Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta, his Secretary of Defense, to lower level officials at the White House, not one single person acted with courage, conviction, or compassion.  Not one single person had the guts to do what was right.

Nobody even bothered to wake the president, or interrupt his HBO movie, whatever was keeping him busy that night.  We don’t really know what he was doing.  Our commander in chief disappeared when the attack started and was never heard from again.  Maybe he was watching Shameless on Showtime—that would be appropriate.

Hillary went right to the business of making excuses.  She issued a press release blaming a YouTube video while the attack was still taking place.  What kind of person does that?  While people who work for her were being killed, she took the time to issue a press release!  Later, meeting the father of one of the dead Americans, she promised that the maker of the video would be arrested and prosecuted.  She said this knowing the video had nothing to do with it.  She looked a grieving father in the eye and lied to his face.

Who does that?

Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, two former SEALs who happened to be nearby in Benghazi, were told to stand down, too, but they said, “Screw that!” and went to help anyway.  That’s what people with courage and convictions do.  I’d like to think that’s what most Americans would do.  But not one person hired by Obama acted that way.  Not one.

From the beginning of his presidency, Barack Obama has shown a distinctive flair for hiring the most incompetent, cowardly, freaky and twisted little nincompoops he can find.  The White House is full of them, our federal agencies are being run by them, our economy is being ruined by them.  Bad hiring is the hallmark of the Obama presidency.  Remember Van Jones, the communist/anarchist nutjob hired to create “green jobs”?  The president wanted this guy so much he invented a new position for him.  Mr. Jones lasted six months, that’s how bad he was.

Or how about Kevin Jennings, the openly gay teacher who didn’t tell authorities about a young student being raped by an older man?  Jennings openly admired Harry Hay, a member of NAMBLA—that’s the North American Man/Boy Love Association.  Harry Hay believed adults should be allowed to have sex with children and Kevin Jennings admired  Harry Hay... so naturally Obama hired Jennings to make schools “safe.”

Are you kidding?  This is the kind of guy we need to make our schools safe from.

I’ve tried to catalogue Obama’s bad hires at JPAttitude but there’s so doggone many of them!  They’re all bad.  Silly bad.  Humorously flagrantly bad.  Even the big hires: Panetta didn’t know anything about the military, Napolitano doesn’t know anything about homeland security, Hillary Clinton never had a clue about international diplomacy, and Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary—a position which puts him in charge of the IRS—didn’t manage to file his own taxes!

The usual explanation is that Obama is insecure so he feels threatened by competent people and doesn’t want them around, but I have a better explanation: it’s called the Dunning–Kruger effect.  According to David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University, cognitive bias in unskilled individuals creates imaginary feelings of superiority which impair their ability to judge competence in others.

How does that apply to Barack Obama?  You do the math.

That’s... today’s dose of common sense.

“The miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others.” —David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University

“The key for us, number one, has always been hiring very smart people.” —Bill Gates

From Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA        Tweet

May 14, 2013 - We have all known this for months. Most know nothings still have no idea. Grrr. – Lea D., Illinois

May 13, 2013 - hillary the next president? Now I'm clinically depressed. She's the reason we ended up with obama. I think everyone is sick of the Bush/Clinton dynasty which is why many voters ran to obama. Anyone but a clinton looked like a better idea. And how did she end up secretary of state? I can't take the idiocity in DC anymore. – LiAnne, Connecticut

May 11, 2013 - Lol. There is no test for the DC bar. You only have to pay a fee to belong. – Pam T., Virginia

May 11, 2013 - "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." For months now, this fiasco was bound to have it's ugly head come bubbling up from the bottom of whatever trash can the democrats thought they could bury it in. Personally I am glad for the media outlets and some of our politicians that continued to push to get this story out. The truth of the story deserves to be told in all it's ugliness and incompetence. In the words go Hillary "what does it matter?" It matters to me! It matters to the families that lost a family member. It should matter to the public, to find out their government lied to them and then to add insult to injury tried to cover it up. But this administration continues to say "nothing new here" and "Benghazi happened a long time ago." Interesting enough, the left has selective memories. Benghazi was eight months ago, but that was a long time ago. Yet, you see any political commentary that is any way negative to the current administration, and "it"s Bush's fault." The list of individuals that participated in the cover up continues to grow daily, as more emails and individuals come forward. Kudo to these people! Because honor and integrity has it's own value, and it will be still with you when the political career and job is gone. But I suppose this is where it all started in the first place. If you live your life, do your job with honor and integrity instead of placing your political career goals above everything else, and protecting your job, then shading the truth or down right lying isn't really necessary. It's too bad that more individuals don't believe "that the truth will set you free." – Pam T., Virginia

May 11, 2013 - "Missus Cli'ton never had a clue about international diplomacy" You flatter her. Missus Cli'ton, the recidivist, treasonous, lying, looting, thieving, mass-murdering, co-serial-rapist dumbest woman to have ever failed the dumbed-down DC Bar? Never had a clue. – Brian A., Arizona

J.P. replies: Careful how you talk.  She might be the next president.