Washington would work better if there were less finger-pointing. Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washington cannot.

CAL: It's amusing to hear Washington politicians and much of the news media selectively use the word "scandal." They seem to be appealing to a standard for judging right and wrong that they have abandoned in most other categories.

BOB: Politicians in Washington today are too quick to use the word "scandal." Scandal used to refer to big things with serious consequences, things like Watergate, which brought down a sitting president. That was a big scandal. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa — a Republican, of course — has held two hearings on Benghazi, Libya, and come up with absolutely nothing except bad communication by the administration. Issa should wrap up his investigation.

CAL: Bad communication? That sounds Nixonian. Watergate was called a "third-rate burglary" by the Nixon White House. When Republicans are in power, Democrats constantly uncover scandals, but when Democrats are in power, scandalous behavior is dismissed by Democrats as phony. It's one of the things normal people — meaning those who don't live in Washington — hate about this town. Instead of performing their constitutional duties, politicians spend too much time (when they're not vacationing) smearing each other.

BOB: There have been plenty of Republican efforts to go to the extreme scandal zone. Impeaching Bill Clinton was a classic example. Fortunately, the Senate had enough sense to acquit Clinton, and the American people were behind him in huge numbers. Republicans just don't get that their idea of scandal is not what the average American thinks is a serious scandal.

CAL: If you ask me, the entire city of Washington — no matter which party is in the majority — is one big scandal.

BOB: You may have a point.

CAL: Applying the old standard for judging behavior, many policies and actions by members of this administration need scrutiny. Label them what you will. First and foremost is what in shorthand is now simply called "Benghazi." That several survivors of last year's attack on the U.S. mission have reportedly been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements and receive regular polygraph tests to ensure they don't talk to the news media and Congress is scandalous. The relatives of the dead deserve to know what happened to their loved ones, as does the public. Benghazi victim Sean Smith's mother says President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised her the truth, but she says she has not been told anything.

BOB: Non-disclosure and polygraph tests are standard procedures for the CIA. Darrell Issa has had everyone in the chain of command up before his committee and has not found a smoking gun. The only question that remains is who gave the final word to stand down. The idea of taking CIA operatives out of the field to testify before Congress jeopardizes them and will contribute little to what Congress already knows.

CAL: This sounds to be like a major coverup in part to ease the path of Hillary Clinton's expected run for president. It was on her watch this happened, and her dismissive "What difference does it make?" comment before a congressional panel is scandalous in its own right.

BOB: Cal, by 2016, the American people will have forgotten Benghazi. The idea that this was a strategy for Hillary Clinton and 2016 is absurd. Strategies like this are complicated and require numerous people to make them work. Do you really believe that if this were a strategy, it wouldn't have leaked by now? Come on. You've been here long enough to know the difference.

CAL: I've been here long enough to realize things aren't always what they at first appear to be.

BOB: I'll grant you that, but not in this case.

CAL: Other scandals include the Justice Department obtaining phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors as well as Fox News reporter James Rosen; the IRS targeting conservative groups when they applied for tax-exempt status; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius possibly violating the Hatch Act by soliciting contributions from agencies HHS might regulate to help sign up uninsured people for ObamaCare ...

BOB: Are you finished? This is starting to resemble a filibuster.

CAL: Not yet, because the list is long and growing. There is also "Fast and Furious," in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent guns to Mexico in hopes of tracing them to drug cartels, only to see them used to kill a U.S. border agent; and the Pigford scandal, in which the Department of Agriculture, in an effort to compensate black farmers who had been discriminated against by the agency, paid billions in cash to thousands of additional minority and female farmers who didn't face discrimination. There's more.

BOB: Each of these has been investigated by a Republican House of Representatives. As far as I can tell, it came up with nothing that was unlawful or significant enough to remove people from office. If politicians of both parties would spend more time legislating and less time attacking each other, we would all be better off.

CAL: I agree with that in principle, Bob, but Congress has a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch. Not everything has to be illegal to be a scandal. Most Americans, I think, would prefer leadership that behaves responsibly with our money and with the power and privilege we entrust to them. As James Madison said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." And we know angels, whether Republicans or Democrats, are not often seen in Washington. Politicians need to be watched.