When it comes to intelligence briefings, Obama isn’t even voting ‘present’
Marc Thiessen asks a good question in the Washington Post today: Why is President Obama skipping more than half of his daily intelligence meetings?
Writes Thiessen:
Clint Eastwood re-enacts a scene from the president's daily intelligence briefings. (AP Photo)
President Obama is touting his foreign policy experience on the campaign trail, but startling new statistics suggest that national security has not necessarily been the personal priority the president makes it out to be. It turns out that more than half the time, the commander in chief does not attend his daily intelligence meeting.
The Government Accountability Institute examined President Obama’s schedule from the day he took office until mid-June 2012, to see how often he attended his Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) — the meeting at which he is briefed on the most critical intelligence threats to the country. During his first 1,225 days in office, Obama attended his PDB just 536 times — or 43.8 percent of the time. During 2011 and the first half of 2012, his attendance became even less frequent — falling to just over 38 percent. By contrast, Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush almost never missed his daily intelligence meeting.
Thiessen relays a comment by a spokesman for the National Security Council, who points out that Obama still receives the information from the briefing daily. But, as Thiessen points out, the administration has portrayed Obama’s participation in these meetings as evidence of his deep “exploration of foreign policy and intelligence issues.” That’s rather at odds with the reality that he skipped almost 700 of these meetings in three and a half years.
And, of course, we would like for our president to get into just such an exploration of these issues with his resident experts on foreign policy and intelligence. Thiessen cites former security officials who say the meetings are an important way for Obama and his security advisers to ask questions of one another. When the president isn’t there, that isn’t happening.
This is certainly of a piece with the reporting from Bob Woodward’s latest book that “gaps” in presidential leadership mean, at times, “no one is running Washington.”
Of course, attending these meetings would make it harder for the president to fulfill one of his other priorities in, ahem, unprecedented fashion.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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394 comments Add your comment
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:15 pm
And @@– Thanks for heating up the blog over the weekend.
Auntie Christ
September 10th, 2012
7:16 pm
@@
September 10th, 2012
7:06 pm
Auntie:
Bush didn’t base his re-election campaign on a withdrawal date. You do see the difference, don’t you?
****************************************************
You’re absolutely right, he was basing mccains’s election on it. But again, that is irrelevant to your original premise, that Obama is deserving of criticism for announcing a withdraw date, but not a word about bush doing it
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:16 pm
Charlie Wilson thumped Chastain Park, Saturday night.
I’m sure it was a great show. I had to work until past 6, so wasn’t able to come up.
H.E. Pennypacker
September 10th, 2012
7:25 pm
What Linda says about job creation is technically correct, IF you ding the President for the full 800,000 jobs lost in Jan. 09 when he was elected near the end of the month, (take that one month out and he has created jobs). The subsequent few months also resulted in ~750,000/month lost so he does get faulted for not catching the falling knife. Add to this the fact that instead of adding over 1,000,000 government workers like President Bush, he has overseen a retraction of 800,000 government workers.
Highest unemployment in nations history is incorrect and no where near that experienced in the great depression.
My favorite is the assertion that polls not indicating Romney leading are a result of lawsuits and bullying. I do feel for the Romney team that has to placate a base that would believe such nonsense while attempting independent outreach…..it is virtually impossible.
H.E. Pennypacker
September 10th, 2012
7:26 pm
Sorry, not elected, but inaugurated in January 2009.
TRUTH
September 10th, 2012
7:26 pm
Oh and one more thing, to all you arm-chair soldiers, sailors, airmen, or marines, unless you served, you will never understand the title Commander-In-Chief. He was briefed and he had to make sure in his mind, he had to make sure as the President, and as the Leader of the Free World, that his decision was accurate (and that relied on the intelligence presented, the view from the ground, the opportunity present) to give the order to execute. And the SEALS did as they were trained. They could not give the order themselves, nor could any commander between SEAL Team 6 and the President.
Now if there are another set of rules that our military abides by, please enlighten me. If the order had been an order that clearly is wrong, a serviceman has the right to refuse that order, but that’s pretty much it. So, where does it say you can operate a secret mission ALL ON YOUR OWN?
Can’t believe how much this article bothered me…
Linda
September 10th, 2012
7:27 pm
Does anyone have time to go back to the beginning of this blog & count the number of left-leaning contributors who have mentioned Bin Laden? His demise & the bailout of GM seems that is all they have, as has been the narrative of the recent Obama campaigns & the DNC.
All Obama has to do is kill Bin Laden 11 more times & he has the election cinched.
Obama said he would heel the whole planet & lower the rise of the oceans. Then he went & threw Bin Laden into the Indian Ocean. Darn it! No wonder all the oceans are right back where they started. Shucks!
H.E. Pennypacker
September 10th, 2012
7:32 pm
Linda,
The topic of the blog is about intelligence briefings, so how Bin Laden not relevant? One President spent $1 trillion dollars fighting and looking for him in the wrong country and the next took care of the problem. Sorry if that does not conform to your narrative.
Auntie Christ
September 10th, 2012
7:33 pm
Linda
September 10th, 2012
7:27 pm
Does anyone have time to go back to the beginning of this blog & count the number of left-leaning contributors who have mentioned Bin Laden?
*************************************************************
We understand linda if you are unable to do it, but maybe you and kayaker 71 can team up and between the 2 of you manage to handle those big numbers like 8 or 9 or 10, whatever it comes to. Good luck and get back to us as soon as you can, probably like tomorrow or Wednesday before you can accomplish such a daunting task.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 10th, 2012
7:34 pm
Regardless of the jobs-created argument, the recovery is nearly non-existent. Our President Reagan implemented pro-growth policies and had a big-boy recovery which makes Obozo’s weak effort look pathetic.
Reagan: Superior to Obozo.
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:34 pm
Back at ya with some more GAP Band, TBS. This one is dedicated to Brosephus, who has to get up eaaaaaarly in the morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wApw_By9nE8&feature=related
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
September 10th, 2012
7:37 pm
If you have something (like an economy) that needs fixing, don’t hire a guy who wears mom-jeans to do the job.
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
7:41 pm
Bruno
He played your 7:34 right before he really brought the house down with this one……….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjtOzLfebgY
He is playing again New Years Eve.
Linda
September 10th, 2012
7:41 pm
HEP@7:25, The math is pretty simple. 8.3%, 8.2% & 8.1% is higher then the 7.8% when Obama took office.
Unfortunately, the main unemployment figures are skewed. Never in my life have I seen the need to dig deeper than the surface. The fact is that the labor participation rate is the lowest it’s been in 32 years.
The unemployment rate of over 8% for 43 consecutive months is the worse in history, for a president to demand to be re-elected.
So you are one of those pollees who tell pollsters (?) how much money you make, when you are away from home during the day & what your credit card number is?
Beverly Fraud
September 10th, 2012
7:42 pm
“It had nothing to do with Bozo any more than Bush had anything to do with Saddam. SEAL TEAM 6 are the heroes….. no one else.”
But of course kayaker71, but…if Bush had been Prez, your average (below average?) neo-con would have been comparing Bush to Rambo. How many neo-cons out there are wishing, in their heart of hearts, that bin Laden was still alive so that Romney could have had a shot at him?
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:43 pm
This one is dedicated to all the beautiful ladies on the blog–Dusty, @@ and Linda–and to my special honey, PB:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjtOzLfebgY
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:44 pm
Oops–Didn’t see your 7:41, TBS. Of course, my intro is better……
JDW
September 10th, 2012
7:46 pm
@@@…”When he didn’t get immunity for our troops, he pulled the plug…and rightfully so.”
Completely agree, so why do you want to snark him for it?
Linda
September 10th, 2012
7:48 pm
HEP@7:31, Because it’s all you have. Bin Laden & GM is all you can harp about & it’s not true. It was Bush that extended the initial funds to GM. It was Bush’s intelligence that led to the whereabouts of Bin Laden.
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
7:48 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pnPYbwqFZU
Bruno
September 10th, 2012
7:50 pm
Just a little tease for you, TBS. PB is going to look into some VIP seats for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn09Xn9JF5s
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
7:54 pm
Brother Bruno
Sweet chocolate are probably 90% sure we will be there. Need to call my buddy to see if he and his wife still want to go, but we will probably go down either way.
Joe B is off the chart…………
Hillbilly D
September 10th, 2012
7:54 pm
After reading an article about the state of journalism the other day, I’ve spent the last 3-4 days trying to think of a single “objective” journalist. I’ll get back to y’all if I ever come up with one.
Everybody’s got an ax to grind, whether they admit it or not. And if somebody feels the need to tell you that they’re impartial, then that’s your answer, right there.
H.E. Pennypacker
September 10th, 2012
7:55 pm
Unfortunately the story of 43 months over 8% being the worst in history is no where near correct. In 1930 unemployment topped 8%, peaking at almost 25% in 1933 and not falling below 8% again until 1942, during WWII.
I have no idea what you are suggesting with pollsters. My company has conducted numerous market research polls and do not see a basis for concern that people are being disingenuous or coerced. I am open to a fact based discussion of that possibility though.
JamVet
September 10th, 2012
7:55 pm
Brother Bruno, been working my buns off lately. Business is better than it has ever been.
This Obama Recovery from the Bush Depression is gonna wear me out! (grin)
You know the old saying, be careful what you wish for, you may get it.
Enjoyed the Bolin.
Back at ya with some Rory Gallagher…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKaiHamPT54
JDW
September 10th, 2012
7:56 pm
@kayaker 71…only person I know of that is not better off today than in 2008 is Osama Bin Laden. As for that BSyou spout on job creation…you did notice that it took until Feb 2010to stop that avalanche Duhbya created…didn’t you? O not that smart…yep that’s how long it took since them 4.5 million private sector jobs.
cc
September 10th, 2012
8:02 pm
Linda @ 7:27 pm:
The bailout of GM using taxpayer monies was actually a bailout (payoff) to the unions. GM will fail because the financial problems experienced by the automaker still exist. We call them unions. I haven’t checked on it lately but in the past the effective wages paid an auto worker was near the $80.00 per hour mark. This figure included the retirement and insurance benefits for the auto workers. It is also pertinent to note that auto workers are exempted from the ObamaCare Act.
The Kenyan would never have been able to issue the order to terminate bin Laden if it were not for the preparatory work (including water-boarding) initiated by President Bush.
Before it is over, the Ruler will part the Red Sea . . .
Hillbilly D
September 10th, 2012
8:02 pm
For the history buffs:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/AP-Exclusive-Memos-show-US-hushed-up-Soviet-crime-3853017.php
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
8:04 pm
Bruno
Joe B’s other band: Black Country Communion
I’m sure I mentioned it before. Bonham’ son on drums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfWiKh0KXzg&feature=related
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
September 10th, 2012
8:04 pm
GM is really alive, but on life support. Bin Laden is dead, it is official, he is listed on the voter rolls in Chicago. That is about as official as it gets. BTW he is voting Dim, as do all dead folk; you would think he would vote against Obama, the man who killed him. Wish the Mistake had more on his list of accomplishments, but this is about it, so continue to emphasize these two great accomplishments dims.
Bounce goes up and then down. He is up and has peaked.
Del
September 10th, 2012
8:05 pm
The only foreign policy experience Obama had was bestowed upon him during his childhood attending Muslim Madrasas in Indonesia along with strong influences from Frank Marshall Davis (a card carrying communist and apologist for the Soviet Union) who functioned as Obama’s mentor when his mother sent him back to his far-left grand parents in Hawaii. His Muslim Kenyan father who he hardly knew or had any contact with contributed in shaping Obama’s anti-Western view of the world and his plan to transform America into a socialist state that no longer stands out as a world leader.
JDW
September 10th, 2012
8:05 pm
@Kayacker…more than Bush had anything to do with Saddam.”
I give Bush 100 percent credit for Saddam. If he had bothered to do his job Saddam would still Be a penny ante dictator, we would bea trillion dollars richer and thousands of Americans would be alive or unhurt. Yep that one is all Duhbya…ever hear of pyrrhic victory…yes indeed Mission Accomplished!
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
8:05 pm
Playing with one of the masters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u03h73ClZ8&feature=related
They BOTH suck
September 10th, 2012
8:09 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w768vbvOjfc&feature=related
Brother Bruno
Have a good night and great week
Peace
Del
September 10th, 2012
8:20 pm
The Obummer doesn’t want to get involved with his buddy’s fight with teacher unions in Chicago. That’s an opening for Republicans if they have the stones to exploit it.
Linda
September 10th, 2012
8:21 pm
cc@8:02, The only email I’ve ever sent to a elected representative was to Bush to request that he not bail out the American car companies. I agree with you completely. It’s only a matter of time before GM will fold. Bandaid economics never work. Romney was correct. The auto companies should have been allowed to go thru bankruptcy with Obama manipulation.
Del
September 10th, 2012
8:25 pm
Linda, could you have meant, without Obama manipulation?
bob
September 10th, 2012
8:27 pm
Why do dems want Obama to get credit for killing Osama but do not want to take credit for not taking him out before he could bomb us ? And speaking of Clinton, did anyone catch his commercial whining about deregulation and repubs ? He signed a bill allowing credit default swaps, signed a bill to end Glass-Stegall, authorized a more aggressive community reinvestment act and signed NAFTA.!
I am surprised Clinton did not include a line in his speech about repubs forcing themselves on women during the democrat convention.
don
September 10th, 2012
8:28 pm
Bush attended, but did he listen? Clearly not, as in “Al Quaida determined to attack within the US”
don
September 10th, 2012
8:32 pm
Jobs? Mittens claims that he would create 12 million. Independent analysts project 12 million jobs created over the next four years, regardless of who is elected. So Mittens is promising to do…. NOTHING, And why would there be this projection? Could it be that conditions have been put in place to grow the economy?
JamVet
September 10th, 2012
8:33 pm
…who have mentioned Bin Laden?
Swift and sure American justice is sweet, huh?
Killing Public Enemy Number One was pretty damn awesome. I’m still stoked that that murderous SOB is sleeping with the fishes.
Maybe you Republicans should have tried enjoying it a little…
yuzeyurbrane
September 10th, 2012
8:40 pm
Call me stupid but I thought the topic of the article upon which are all supposed to be commenting is (1) Obama folks puffing about his oversight of national securities issue (Kyle’s clarified version) or (2) whether the fact Obama only attends half of his daily national security briefings means he has been a bad mgr. of national security. Either way, it is hard to tell from the last 2 pages of posts.
Linda
September 10th, 2012
8:42 pm
HEP@7:32, I missed your comment. A victim of 9/11 begged Obama on 9/11/12 to have his DOJ dismiss their lawsuits against the CIA operatives who claimed that they were just doing what they were told to do in interrogating terrorists. Obama told her that it was out of his hands, that his DOD was independent.
The Obama DOJ just dismissed those lawsuits.
At the same time, the Obama adm. was participating in rendition, the real torture of terrorists by sending them to other countries, known for their blatant disregard for humanity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/us/politics/25rendition.html
Del
September 10th, 2012
8:44 pm
I’m delighted to see so many Bookman regulars coming over to Kyles blog to express their opinions. Of course they need to behave or Kyle gives them the boot in a fair, firm and equal manner. Unlike, Bookman who favors his pet sycophants.
Del
September 10th, 2012
8:47 pm
yuz,
Have you ever scanned the Bookman blog where the tread topic lasts about two pages and sometimes less?
Linda
September 10th, 2012
9:13 pm
It’s not a blog. It’s a cult. Go over there after he leaves on Friday & state that wrestling is not real. They will defend it all night long & until you log back on the next day.
Try to blog with more than a couple of sentences.
Try to blog without a natural soundbite of the human digestive tract in an enclosed vehicle.
Try to offer a recipe rather than a song.
Try to say that global warming is a hoax.
It’s a comedy without proportions if it was not so pathetic.
Linda
September 10th, 2012
9:16 pm
Del@8:25, Yes, I meant withOUT Obama manipulation. Thanks for correcting me.
Common Sense
September 10th, 2012
9:27 pm
It seems that the same ones who talk about President Obama forget about ALL the VACATION TIME Bush took with the wife and the Drunk Daughters!!!! Your right, ignorance is Bliss — Republican Ignorance is Bliss!!
@@
September 10th, 2012
9:34 pm
JDW:
Completely agree, so why do you want to snark him for it?
I think you guys are hunting for snipes. Can’t have any of those critters nippin’ at Obama’s toes, can we?
schnirt
Anyhoo, Bush never wanted a deadline date. SOFA was negotiated during the 2008 presidential campaign. With Obama out there pronouncing complete withdrawal within 16 months, the Iraqis ended all negotiations and forced the withdrawal on their terms, not Bush’s.
The rest is Obama’s history in the making.
Now ’scuse me while I go back to my landwatch.
mike
September 10th, 2012
9:41 pm
Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win!
Let’s gather around in a circle and sing together! How could he not win?
Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win! Romney’s going to win!