This tragic incident happened thousands of miles away, but the complexities surrounding the deaths of an American ambassador, and three other Americans in Libya, continue to have an impact on the race for the White House, despite numerous investigations and hearings in search of finding out exactly what circumstances contributed to a United States facility being attacked by forces that overwhelmed defences for protection of those serving there.

The incident turned into a political nightmare for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as she maintains the front-runner position for the Democrats, in her attempt to become the next President of the United States. In yet another hearing on the Benghazi affair, which ran well over ten hours, Republicans on a congressional committee that included Democrats unleashed a barrage of tough questions that the former Secretary of State withstood without losing her cool, as she again attempted to explain various aspects involved, since this happened on her watch.

Obviously, a huge political wedge formed between the Democrats and the Republicans, as Democrats responded to GOP allegations that the people had been misled by the Obama Administration over what really happened. The Democrats, in responding to such criticism, went as far as to accuse the Republicans of deliberately targeting Mrs Clinton’s credibility, while trying to damage her political campaign in seeking the highest office in the nation. This they denied, saying all they wanted was the truth.

Even at the conclusion of the hearings, Republicans were adamant that they were not happy with her answers, and vowed to press the matter further. Democrats insisted facts already published on the tragedy would not change and that it was time to focus on improving protection for Americans serving overseas. Mrs Clinton pointed out that, with embassies and consulates around the world, the situation of safety varied, with some areas very friendly and others laced with potential dangers.

Many political observers felt the former Secretary of State survived the onslaught of questions without loss of momentum towards seeking the Democratic nomination. However, they are also aware that the GOP has no intention of closing the book on the issue, even though there was no dramatic change after the marathon grilling of the former Secretary of State.

Whether or not her private e-mail system contained classified information also came under fire by GOP members of the congressional committee, with no startling developments.

Two things seem noteworthy regarding this political firestorm.

One is that the press around the world had their work cut out for them in trying to sift through different versions of what happened, without getting ahead of the facts; with the Republicans and the Democrats deeply divided over what transpired in Benghazi, there was no shortage of conflicting conclusions. Making things worse was that Republicans have been at war with themselves on a number of issues, including seeking a presidential candidate they feel would be capable of competing with Hillary Clinton should she win the nomination.

The other involved qualities most people like to see in someone aspiring for a leadership role. Mrs Clinton kept a cool head under scorching questions, which at times seemed aimed at pushing her over the edge. She was steady and mostly solid in her responses and, as one observer said, “she was very presidential”.

A leader who is able to keep a cool head under pressure, and is committed to sound ideals of truth and transparency, is likely to win the confidence of the people even in times of trouble.

Most people know when politicians clash, truth is often the first casualty. In the end, the people usually assess things for themselves, and we know the method they use to express themselves.

Politics, even here in our beautiful Bermuda, can sometimes reach a near-boiling point and when issues become overheated, there is a tendency to slip over the edge with remarks that are not always easy to pull back. We all can learn from the importance of keeping a cool head when the going gets rough.

In the weeks and months ahead, the Republicans are likely to keep the Benghazi issue alive, but it all could turn out to be a sad story, which at least opened the door to finding better ways of protecting Americans serving abroad, especially in hostile areas. If that is the case, something positive would have come out of this awful tragedy.