For those who were not around or do not remember, there was a pall cast over Ronald Reagan’s presidency by the Iran Contra scandal in which sales of arms to Iran were made in violation of U.S. policy in order to secretly fund right-wing Contra rebels in Nicaragua – which was also in violation of U.S. policy. One of the masterminds of the operation was none other than Oliver North, later convicted of three felonies (overturned on a technicality) and now a Fox News host. Reagan said he did not know that money from the sale of arms to Iran had been secretly diverted. But last night, on Hannity, Oliver North suggested otherwise.

In a diatribe against President Obama’s “incompetence, malevolence and misfeasance” with regard to what happened during the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, North said he thought it “entirely possible” that Obama was not paying attention to his national security briefings. When Hannity said he couldn’t believe that, North defended his view by talking about his experience working for President Reagan.

I worked for a president who, every morning at eight o’clock, he got a briefing. It took him a total of 45 minutes to make a decision to take down the aircraft that was escaping with the terrorists who had hijacked the Achille Lauro. I know what it’s like to work for a president who pays attention