Benghazi - The Tragedy and the Politics - NYTimes.com Re "The Republicans" Benghazi Obsession" (editorial, May 10): Republicans wonder why the Benghazi "scandal" has not taken hold with the public. This may be because they are so driven in everything they do to destroy President Obama that people dismiss such investigations as politically motivated and lacking any foundation. Like the boy who cried wolf, Republicans cannot expect people to pay attention when they think that they have a real case. Perhaps if the investigation focused on why the tragedy happened and what could be done to prevent repetitions in the future, there would be greater interest. As it is, with new conspiracy theories from the right almost daily, many people simply stop listening. You seem to be missing the real issue here, which is that the Obama administration knowingly spread a false account to the public during a critical election season. In doing so, it successfully drained the meaning from a terrorist attack that it thought might have potentially disastrous political implications. The same president who promised us transparency in his administration misled the American people at a critical juncture for our country, and Republicans have every right to demand answers. My fellow Republicans are at it again. Trying to win the presidency by nominating an acceptable candidate seems to be an alien concept. Instead, they've decided to use Benghazi to smear the Democrats" potential front-runner rather than disclose the facts and allow Americans to decide for themselves. Brilliant strategy, guys: irritate the majority of Americans who admire the world's most well-known and capable woman. Sad, but our Republican leadership seems content to conspire behind Washington walls while engaging in political retaliation rather than help punish the real killers of innocent Americans. Note to leadership: Being sneaky bullies bent on diminishing the political stock of a proven leader is itself unpatriotic. The writer is a retired Navy commander.