Marc A. Thiessen @ WaPo:
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, a new conservative investigative research organization, 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.
I asked National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor about the findings, and whether there were any instances where the president attended the intelligence meeting that were not on his public schedule. Vietor did not dispute the numbers, but said the fact that the president, during a time of war, does not attend his daily intelligence meeting on a daily basis is “not particularly interesting or useful.” He says that the president reads his PDB every day, and he disagreed with the suggestion that there is any difference whatsoever between simply reading the briefing book and having an interactive discussion of its contents with top national security and intelligence officials where the president can probe assumptions and ask questions. “I actually don’t agree at all,” Vietor told me in an e-mail, “The president gets the information he needs from the intelligence community each day.”
Yet Vietor also directed me to a Post story written this year in which Obama officials discuss the importance of the intelligence meeting and extol how brilliantly the president runs it. “Obama reads the PDB ahead of time and comes to the morning meeting with questions. Intelligence briefers are there to answer those questions, expand on a point or raise a new issue,” The Post reported. “One regular participant in the roughly 500 Oval Office sessions during Obama’s presidency said the meetings show a president consistently participating in an exploration of foreign policy and intelligence issues.”
Sometimes you just have to guess Obama’s motives for things he does or doesn’t do.
So, Obama is extremely thin-skinned.
And the Defense Department has told Obama they MUST, by law, send out over 1 million layoff notices to defense contractors BEFORE the November election!
So, seems to me, this is payback.
Obama already tried to talk them into not obeying this law, but he could not prevail.
@Nan G:
When the defense contractors went to the hill, they cried about their personnel losing their jobs. Not once was a DoD civilian or military person mentioned. However, over a ten year period 600,000 DoD personnel will lose their jobs. (This does not include other federal agencies.) Next year (FY13), 106,000 personnel in DoD must lose their jobs and be off the rolls by 30 September 2013 (unless the law is repealed). In addition there is a downsizing of the military going on, from 545K to 490 and possibly 430. Those that cannot retire will be released, no severance, no retirement, no nothing. (and you think a 14% unemployment is bad now?) I doubt anyone on the hill ever thought about the cause and effect of what they signed into law. At this time these personnel are paying taxes. These taxes are going to fund welfare, unemployment, medicare, etc. etc. When these 600,000+ people lose their jobs who will be funding their unemployment et al? What about those that provide services to the government entities from paper to pencils to flak jackets? What about the retailers, restaurants, amusement parks, grocery stores, etc. etc.? If you think the economy is bad now, just wait. We are probably going to go into a huge recession possible depression. As an aside 207,000 of these 600,000 personnel reside in the state of Virginia (second only to CA). Now you know why VA for one of the first times is swaying toward the Republican side. They are tired of being stomped on, debased and ridiculed by the current administration.
Probably these meetings have become ritualistic and are of lesser actual importance than some other matters. The only reason Bush attended so many is because he was a militarist who dreamed of being a real fighter pilot—though not going to war in Vietnam, when he had the chance—and 911 left a tasted in his mouth throughout his presidency.
@liberal1(objectivity):
When you have to defend the actions of Obama by starting your defense with “Probably”, you are already on the losing side of the argument.
And then you parrot the talking points of the left, that Bush refused to go to Vietnam, when in reality, he requested that duty but his unit was no longer being sent to South East Asia as the war was winding down. If you progressives were forced to tell the truth about any issue, you would be unable to talk.
Enchanted
wow this is indeed dangerous for the economy which is already on the crashing point,
so many more adding to those unable to find a job will continue the lower fall of this administration,
HOPE NOVEMBER 6 BRING THE FALL OF OBAMA AND DEMOCRATS FOLLOWING HIS ORDERS,
THEY ALL SHOULD BE REPLACE FOR ALLOWING THE MISERY OF THE PEOPLE TO SURVIVE FEEDING THEIR FAMILY,
THIS NOT A PERSONAL MATTER OF WHETHER YOU LIKE OBAMA OR HE GAVE YOU A JOB IN THE WHITE HOUSE WITH THE UNION’S BENEFITS PROMISES, NO
THOSE JOBS WILL FALL AS WELL AS THE OTHER WHEN THE MONEY IS NO MORE THERE,
THIS IS A MATTER OF ALL AMERICA TO GET HIM OUT BECAUSE HE IS OUT TO
WORSE TIME COMING AT YOU ALL BE IT POOR WILL BE POORER, AND BUSYNESS WILL BE LOOSING THEIR BUSYNESS, AND STUDENTS WON’T BE HAVING WHAT OBAMA TOLD YOU, YOU CAN BET AT IT, OBAMA WON’T HAVE ANY MORE ACCESS TO MONEY TO SPEND NEITHER THOSE HE PROMISES
AT YOU ALL
@liberal1(objectivity):
Like golf, perhaps?
A GAI study of Obama’s calender, in July, up to that point in his presidency, showed that Obama spent over 600 hours on the golf course. Compare that to just 412 hours spent in economic meetings.
That’s what it is really like to give a briefing to Obama.
Nan G.
what a boring human being and they elect him for PRESIDENT,
NO WONDER THEY ALL LOOK STUPEFIED IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE ELECTED DEMOCRATS,
THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE. SPEAK ALIKE YOU WOULDN’T KNOW WHO IS THE PRESIDENT WHEN THEY ARE TOGETHER,