MSNBC Panel: Hillary's 'What Difference, At This Point, Does It Make' Moment Was Her 'At Her Very Best'

On Thursday, a panel segment on MSNBC featured nearly unanimous agreement: Republicans questioning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton forcefully during her testimony before Congress did themselves no favors. The panelists agreed that Clinton gave those Republicans criticizing her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi a 'spanking,' and those GOP lawmakers inadvertently provided Clinton with a 'highlight reel' for a potential 2016 presidential bid. The Benghazi hearing was 'Hillary Clinton at her very best,' observed one MSNBC panel guest.

RELATED: NY Post's Totally Uncontroversial Benghazi Cover: 'Hillary Explodes With Rage,' 'No Wonder Bill's Afraid'

MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts asked his panel guests what their opinions were of several Republican lawmakers criticizing Clinton's leadership forcefully during the Wednesday's Benghazi hearings.

MSNBC contributor Ron Reagan said that the Republicans who were most vocally critical of Clinton were probably thinking of their political prospects ahead of the 2016 presidential race. 'Instead, Hillary Clinton gave herself a highlight reel by spanking those senators pretty forcefully there,' Reagan said. 'They came off as unserious; she came off as very serious.'

Roberts played a clip of the heated exchange between Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Clinton where she replied to his repeated inquiries about the administration's citing a YouTube video as the impetus for the Benghazi attacks by saying, 'what difference, at this point, does it make?' Roberts also featured today's cover of the New York Post featuring an image of Clinton testifying with the caption, 'no wonder Bill's afraid.'

'You would not see a man put in that position on the front page of the New York Post,' Roberts opined.

'It just goes to show you the core problem on the right at this moment,' said The Grio editor Joy-Ann Reid.

'The fact that Republicans thought it wisdom to sit there and attack ' in a really, I would say, almost undignified fashion ' a former first lady, a very popular Secretary of State, and the most political figure, let's face it, in the country, I think that Ron Reagan is right,' Reid continued. 'They were thinking ahead to 2016 and hoping for a Condoleezza Rice, 'bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States' moment.'

'Instead, what they got was Hillary Clinton at her very best,' Reid concluded. 'She really did spank the Republicans who were attempting to attack her.'

Reid said that some Republicans cited 'Breitbart.com conspiracy theories' that Clinton was watching the attack unfold live. Reid was referring to Republicans who cited testimony by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Programs Charlene Lamb who told lawmakers that, once tactical operations was alerted to the ongoing attack in Benghazi, 'I could follow what was happening in almost real-time.'

Republican strategist Susan Del Percio agreed that it was a politically foolish move for Republicans to so forcefully question Clinton's handling of the Benghazi attack.

'It wasn't very smart behavior,' Del Percio said of Congressional Republicans. 'It made absolutely no sense to go after Hillary Clinton on her last day. There are legitimate concerns and they could have brought them up. But, instead, they chose to basically whack her around like a piñata and it was a huge mistake.'

She concluded that Republicans seeking accountability for the Benghazi attack will set the Republican party back in its mission to appeal to women voters.

Watch the panel segment below via MSNBC:

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