What Are These People Doing?

The Administration knew within hours there were AQ elements involved in the Libyan Ambassador murder, but spent 9 days all misleading the public about it.  Why?

The irony of Watergate was that Nixon didn't even need the break-in to win the election, but his own paranoid delusions lead to his downfall.  What is this administration trying to hide from us?  I can only hope it is a source inside AQ -- but I count that highly unlikely.