EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> <br />With all eyes on President Obama ahead of Tuesday's second presidential debate... U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears to be lending a hand on the issue of diplomatic security.<br/> <br />During a trip to Peru Clinton said it was her responsibility to keep diplomats safe whilst abroad--a reference to the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last month.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYING:<br/> <br />"...to try to make sure that we intervene with governments we did everything we could to keep our people safe which is my primary responsibility."<br/> <br />The details surrounding the attack in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died have been scant.<br/> <br />A few White House blunders over the handling of the incident--first attributing the attack to violence over an anti-Islam film-- then suffering through critical congressional testimony about a lack of security-- has given Republicans a free talking point during this election season.<br/> <br />And they've hit the issue hard.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE MITT ROMNEY SAYING :<br/> <br />"He's doubling down on denial and we need to understand exactly what happened as opposed to have people brush this aside."<br/> <br />But in shouldering the blame, Clinton is taking one for the team. And scolding Republicans not to turn it into a political gotcha.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYING:<br/> <br />"I don't we want to get into any blame game. I really believe that tragedies like what happened in Benghazi should be viewed in a non-political way everybody should pull together as Americans."
