The perception of modern politicians is that they stay in office by wielding a soft power, issuing a few well-placed grants and voting for the things that will tickle the constituency come election season. But as some of Hillary Clinton’s emails reveal, the Obama administration is not above creating havoc in a foreign country to secure an election at home. Rep. Trey Gowdy, chair of the House Benghazi Committee, recently described the situation in a letter to the ranking member on the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings. It was 2011, just after the United States helped intervene in Libya and imposed the no-fly zone over the country. Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton lackey, was whispering into his lady’s ear. Obama was sagging in the polls. Blumenthal’s solution? Escalate America’s intervention in Libya. “Obama should think about the political effect here in the US of defeat by Qathafi’s [sic] puny forces,” Blumenthal wrote. “He wants to be re-elected? It would be interesting to see how his prospect would be affected by Qathafi’s continuing presence in Tripoli in November 2012 and the mockery that the Republicans will rain down on him over his present weakness.” We know what happened next: Libyan rebels killed Gadhafi and the region was plunged into chaos. The U.S. consulate in Benghazi was attacked and the ambassador killed. But hey, Obama was re-elected. For Blumenthal, he promoted war because he had a chance of benefiting financially. His business venture, Osprey Global Solutions, stood positioned to do business with a new Libyan regime. And Hillary Clinton greased the skids.