The Note: A Second Look At The Benghazi Hearing

— -- NOTABLES

--HOW THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE GAVE HILLARY A PRESIDENTIAL PLATFORM: The "get Hillary" committee did not get Hillary. The House Benghazi committee -- dubbed a "get Hillary" effort by Democrats who opposed its creation -- brought out precious little new information and no major political missteps by the former secretary of state, who happens to be running for president. Under sharp and lengthy cross-examination for perhaps the biggest foreign-policy debacle of her time in office, Hillary Clinton was somber and substantive. During the political fireworks, Clinton was watching the show, with loyal Democrats matching their Republican colleagues' volume, and Clinton staying out. The highly anticipated all-day-cable affair was the culmination of 17 months of committee work, plus decades worth of GOP-led investigations into all things Clinton. Confronted with this unprecedented spectacle, candidate Clinton chose almost entirely not to engage, ABC's RICK KLEIN notes. http://abcn.ws/1PK68Hg

--HEARING MARKED BY TESTY EXCHANGES: The testimony featured fireworks from members of congress on both sides of the aisle and left Clinton in the hot seat for around 11 hours, including breaks, beginning just after 10 a.m. and wrapping at 9 p.m. All told, she spent more than 8 hours testifying. ABC's JUSTIN FISHEL has more. http://abcn.ws/1XlNozU

--WATCH THE HEATED TREY GOWDY VS. ELIJAH CUMMINGS ARGUMENT: Moments before the House Select Committee on Benghazi was about to break for lunch Thursday, the discourse between Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, and Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, took a heated turn. However, the fiery exchange between the chairman of the committee and the ranking Democrat wasn't about Hillary Clinton specifically, but over her confidante Sidney Blumenthal, who was not working for the State Department but sent Clinton emails while she was secretary of state, according to ABC's PAOLA CHAVEZ and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI. http://abcn.ws/1kwyuc6

--ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced this morning that he was suspending his campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. "After much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today," Chafee said at the Democratic National Committee's Forum on Women's Leadership in Washington, D.C. With his announcement, now only three Democratic contenders remain: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley. http://abcn.ws/1i08R1n

THIS WEEK on "THIS WEEK": The Powerhouse Roundtable debates the week in politics with ABC News contributor, Correct the Record senior advisor and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, ABC News contributor and Republican strategist Ana Navarro, and Bloomberg Politics co-managing editors and hosts of "With All Due Respect" Mark Halperin and John Heilemann.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MEET THE TATTOOED, HEAD-SHAVEN MAYOR RUNNING FOR SENATE. He's not your typical United States Senate candidate. Standing 6-feet 8-inches tall with a shaved head, his arms inked with tattoos, at first glance, John Fetterman, the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, looks more like a motorcycle club member on "Sons of Anarchy" than a potential Capitol Hill lawmaker. But there's far more than meets the eye to the Democratic hopeful, who is vying for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Sitting down with ABC's RICK KLEIN at The Science Club in Washington, D.C., Fetterman talked about his tenure as mayor, his Senate campaign, and what he hopes to bring to the table on Capitol Hill. http://abcn.ws/1PFHJU2

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ

7 WAYS JOE BIDEN'S 2016 DECISION CHANGES THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE. Joe Biden announced that he isn't running for president, but we're still waiting to see exactly how his decision will shape the race. If Biden had launched a presidential bid, the race would have changed dramatically. Hillary Clinton would have had a second strong establishment challenger -- making the Democratic presidential race more competitive. "I also know that I could do this," Biden said as he announced his decision on Wednesday. "Unfortunately I believe we're out of time -- out of time necessary to mount a campaign for president." The 2016 candidates and observers had been holding their breath to see if Joe Biden would jump in, but his decision to sit on the sidelines allows some more pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. ABC's RYAN STRUYK highlights the seven ways the presidential race is likely to shift now that Joe Biden has finally said "no." http://abcn.ws/1RZcmlI

MEET THE BROOKLYN WOMAN WAITING OUTSIDE BENGHAZI HEARING AS A 'VISUAL SILENT PROTEST'. As Hillary Clinton was answering questions Thursday from the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Diane Atkins was among the hundred or so people waiting in line outside the hearing on Capitol Hill, hoping to get in. Atkins traveled the roughly 230 miles from New York to D.C. to be a "visual silent protest against Hillary Clinton," she said. ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI reports the Brooklyn native came dressed in an orange jumpsuit with Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign logo painted on the top right of the jumpsuit --but the logo is upside down. Beneath that is the date of Benghazi attack in Libya. On her left side, Atkins has a "bloody handprint" -- a reference to the bloodstains found on the columns of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. http://abcn.ws/1LIvkIR

11 THINGS CARLY FIORINA'S 'BODY WOMAN' ALWAYS HAS HANDY. What makes a good "body person"? Carly Fiorina believes she has the best in the business with her personal assistant, Rebecca Schieber, who recently gained some notoriety when The Associated Press profiled her. One of the tools that makes Schieber so good at her job, Fiorina demonstrates in a new Facebook video, is the overstuffed purse full of various necessities and little convenience items that she hauls around on the campaign trail. In the video, Schieber and Fiorina give a sneak peek of what's inside the purse. ABC's JORDYN PHELPS has more on the items found inside the purse. http://abcn.ws/1MV0Ck9

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

BERNIE SANDERS THINKS LARRY DAVID IMPERSONATION WAS 'PRETTY GOOD'. Bernie Sanders the senator? More like Bernie Sanders the comedian. Wednesday night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the presidential candidate was asked what he thought about Larry David's show-stopping impression of him from "Saturday Night Live" last week. "I thought it was pretty, pretty, pretty good!" Sanders replied, performing his own rendition of David's famous line from the hit show "Curb Your Enthusiasm." ABC's MARYALICE PARKS reports the SNL skit has become a regular talking point for Sanders on the campaign trail. http://abcn.ws/1LpMblN

WHO'S TWEETING?

@ryanstruyk: Chafee in withdrawal speech to DNC, hitting Obama: "Do we want to be remembered as the bombers of weddings and hospitals?"

@OKnox: There goes my hope for him to be running mates with Lindsey Gram

@JamesPindell: My story lifting the curtain on #nhsen: New Hampshire US Senate race is ground zero for women's issues http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/10/22/this-senate-race-ground-zero-for-women-issues/FVmsr3WgG1rIKqwviTeooN/story.html?event=event25 ... #nhpolitics

@jeneps: Sanders to Democratic women: "if this is a same old-same old election ... Republicans will win and we will lose"

@MarcACaputo: Jeb #s w/evangelicals should rise when they learn he defunded Planned Parenthood, fought to keep Schiavo alive, gave religious schools tax $