Should President Obama Attend All Of His Intelligence Meetings?

President Obama in the Oval Office with Thomas E. Donilon, left, the national security adviser, and John O. Brennan, his top counter-terrorism adviser. Pete Souza/The White House

Why Is Obama Skipping More Than Half Of His Daily Intelligence Meetings? -- Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post

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.

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My Comment: I am sure that President Obama reads his intelligence briefs everyday .... and that if something is important that needs to be discussed in these intelligence briefings .... he would be informed. Still .... it makes you wonder if Eastwood's 'empty chair' satire clip was spot on?