Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Newsmax TV's "America's Forum" that "a lot of vulnerable Democrats are really scared" by President Barack Obama's campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS). 

Josh Orton, senior adviser of Progressives United, countered that many Democrats were in support of the strategy. O'Connell and Orton debated on Wednesday the ramifications of the ISIS campaign and what it could mean for Democrats as they head into the fall elections.

Watch the video and read more from Wanda Carruthers at Newsmax.com

Republican strategist Ford O'Connell and Rick Ungar, senior political contributor for Forbes.com, discussed how President Barack Obama will develop a strategy for combating the Islamic State on Newsmax TV's "America's Forum" on Wednesday. 

O'Connell said he is "not yet sold" that Obama knows "what the end goal is," while Ungar said what is "critically important" is how the threat is contained.

Watch the video and read more from Wanda Carruthers at Newsmax.com

U.S. President Barack Obama is faced with a dilemma as Iraq spins out of control, and there are no good options.

At issue is what to do about the al-Qaida-inspired radicals surging through northern Iraq, wreaking havoc and reportedly beheading hundreds if not thousands of victims.

Obama has suggested using U.S. air power against the terrorists, but the move could cause the U.S. to be seen as supporting what many in Iraq see as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pro-Iranian and anti-Sunni stance.

In essence, air strikes would make the Unite States appear to some as indirectly siding with long-time U.S. foe Iran, as many in Iraq perceive al-Maliki as taking orders from the Islamic republic, experts said.

Indeed, since Saddam Hussein was ousted as Iraqi president in 2003, Iran has been locked in a struggle for regional dominance against the United States and Saudi Arabia, and giving Tehran more of a foothold in Iraq is exactly what the White House does not want to do, experts said.

But at the same time, there is pressure on the White House to act, as many fear terrorists could use Iraq as a base to strike the Unite States, much the same as when al-Qaida used Afghanistan to plan the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks against New York and Washington, pundits and analysts said.

Adding to the complexity, however, is that among the mix of fighters on the ground are some anti-government tribal groups who may be fighting under the banner of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a splinter group of al-Qaida. The radical militants are continuing their advances after seizing swathes of five provinces in northern and western Iraq in the past two weeks.

Back in Washington, some Republicans are foaming at the mouths that Iraq has gotten to this point.

"Their concern is that Obama (was perceived to) drag his feet so long that it got to this point," Republican strategist Ford O' Connell told Xinhua.

Read more from at GlobalPost.com

Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark. From CNN's Elise Labott:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday tried to douse a political firestorm over the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, saying she's responsible for the security of American diplomatic outposts.

"I take responsibility," Clinton said during a visit to Peru. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision."

But she said an investigation now under way will ultimately determine what happened at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed on September 11.

[Clinton] added, "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game."

Clinton's statement of responsibility was "a laudable gesture, especially when the White House is trying to avoid any responsibility whatsoever," the Arizona senator said in a joint broadside with Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. However, they added, "The security of Americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the commander-in-chief. The buck stops there."

Stevens, State Department computer expert Sean Smith and security contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods died in the Benghazi assault, which State Department officials now say was the work of dozens of armed men.

Ford O'Connell and Democratic strategist David Dimartino join Fox News' Chris Stirewalt on Fox News Live's "Power Play w/Chris Stirewalt" to discuss the Obama Administration's questionable handling of the terrorist attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, and what role the issue could play in the remaining weeks of the 2012 Presidential Election.