Leon takes the long view

And he shall be Leon*

But Panetta and Morell, noting the attack has been subject to many investigations already, said they welcome the latest one in the House.

"If you look at the polling numbers a not insignificant percentage of the American people still have questions," Morell said.

Morell, who said he already has testified four times about Benghazi, said he is 100 percent confident the upcoming investigation will show that allegations "the intelligence community politicized its analysis" are false.

Panetta, a former Central Coast congressman and Democratic Party stalwart, said there needs to be an investigation to lay out the full story to the public. "The problem has been sometimes bits and pieces of information keep coming out" that raise more questions, he said.

Leon Panetta, that is, well described here as a Democratic Party stalwart. So why would Leon Panetta and his deputy, Michael Morell, welcome an investigation that other Democrats want to avoid at all costs? A few guesses:

• I suspect that Morell is correct that the intelligence community did not politicize its analysis. Most likely, that was done by the White House.
• Panetta understands that while Barack Obama and his retinue are in charge right now, the long-term prospects of the Democratic Party matter more than protecting the current occupant of the White House. In fact, if Obama and company are dirty on this issue, it would be a real problem for Democrats going forward.
• There are a whole lot of questions that do need to be answered and they will be answered eventually. It would be better if the matter is put to rest, one way or another, in 2014, rather than later on. 

*Apologies to Bernie Taupin.