Part of the difference stems from the effort to politicize Benghazi.

But part of it is a natural difference in public response to violence that seems “normal” and “abnormal,” or expected and unexpected.

We expect people to die in war — and military personnel operating in war zones know that their safety is at risk. In that sense, the violence is “normal.” But terrorist attacks are unexpected, making them feel more jarring. Regardless of whether that differing reaction is good or bad, the psychological effect may be, at least to some extent, unavoidable.

The Benghazi attack was the first killing of a U.S. ambassador since 1979. It’s reasonable to be concerned about it, and to analyze what happened to try and prevent something similar from happening in the future. But Republicans and conservative media blew it out of proportion.