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One of the more recent lines of attack against President Obama is that he's scaled back in-person daily intelligence briefings. Dick Cheney is feigning outrage, and the criticism is at the center of a new column from the Washington Post's Marc Thiessen, a former Bush speechwriter.
Putting aside credibility questions involving Cheney and Thiessen, and overlooking the jaw-dropping irony of Bushies stressing intelligence briefings in light of recent revelations, is it possible these criticisms have some merit?
At first blush, it hardly seems unreasonable to think a sitting president, during a war and with facing frequent threats, would want to participate in daily intelligence briefings. And yet, conservative activists, relying on Obama's publicly-available schedules, insist that the president skips more than half of these meetings.
So, maybe Cheney and Thiessen have a point? Actually, no. Jonathan Capehart has a good piece on this.
The president reads the daily intelligence briefing every day. That he doesn't meet with his national security staff to discuss it isn't earth shattering when you know that many of the president's national security meetings are never put on his public schedule.
"I'd note that these are hardly the only national security meetings he has each week that include an intelligence briefing," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told me via e-mail this morning. When I asked him if he were able to tell me exactly how many national security meetings Obama has during the week, Vietor unsurprisingly replied, "I'm not."
For Cheney and Thiessen, both of whom probably know better but hope to take a cheap shot on 9/11, the notion that Obama skips in-person national security briefings is outrageous. It's not -- Obama still gets written daily reports, still gets national security information every day, and still has all kinds of intelligence briefings we know nothing about. The controversy, if one wants to call it that, is weak, even by Republican standards.
Thiessen boasted in his column that, unlike that rascally Obama, Bush "almost never missed his daily intelligence meeting." How nice for him. But given that Bush, in at least one occasion a month before 9/11, responded to a daily briefing, "All right. You've covered your ass, now," it's more important to consider how a president handles the intelligence, not how many meetings we think he may or may not be attending.
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Wow, you guys will defend this man to your grave, no matter what the actions.
Such blind loyalty allows for much ado about something!
Who do we get to go to when this does become a problem? I'm sure it will be the Republicans fault.
Yes, sometimes Steve defends Obama from such ridiculous claims as "he's as dumb as Bush." Go figure.
The fact a campaign fundraiser at Jennifer Anisten's home in Malibu gets more attention than a National Security briefing confirms the office of President of the United States has been reduced to the position of Chief Fundraiser and the governance of people in this country is secondary to ALL politicians.
FromDownHere, don't we have three choices here? Obama, Romney, or no one?
Most of us here have more principles than just writing off our government, so that scratches the " no one" choice.
Most of us here, not all, feel that Mitt has difficulty with some things, like running on facts, policies, or making an effort to reach anyone other than his base. Since we aren't his base, he doesn't bother with us, our issues, our concerns, our lives. There is no reason to be loyal to Mitt Romney.
Obama has not operated like Mitt, he's reached across the aisle, he's worked for all America, he isn't afraid of facts, and his policies are out there for everyone to comment on, not hidden. Obama is a good man and a decent president and being loyal to decency sits well with my conscience and my life philosophy. If you want to see the other side of the coin, here are some things he's done in office.
And lastly, a lot of folks on here have had gripes with Obama on this or that and have voiced them. Benen has too. He isn't getting a free pass on what folks think he's doing wrong, but what he is getting is approval for what he does right. What he does right deserves loyalty and encouragment.
So, who are you loyal to, and why?
Always nice to have another moron come along and demonstrate that Republican Stupidity is universal among the idiots.
Well, from what I've seen for more than thirty years now... probably.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
Damn right it will be the republican's fault, it ALWAYS is.
I am, and will always be, loyal to the people of this great country.
I just saw a fact check graph (a favorite tool of MSNBC) showing the accomplished promises of this President. 27% accomplished, 30ish still in limbo, 40 something BROKEN. The defense "that darn OTHER party won't let me and has blocked me" has been used by both parties when something comes up that they really don't want to do but panders to their voting base.
If you don't think this and every other politician hasn't accomplished exactly what they want, when they want, I would suggest laying off the Koolaid.The first sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. After what I've seen from this President, I'm voting for anything different hoping for a change.
Good man @!$%#ty president.
Ah, the koolaid cliche. Well-played. //snark//
Of course that liberal koolaid, is that what pushes liberals to look at the facts, good ones and not so good ones, and tries to match candidates to solutions for everybody in this diverse nation, as opposed to playing to just one little special homogenized group? It's that koolaid that makes liberals actually analyze the positions of candidates for their positive attributes and worthiness of the highest seat in the land. Sure, too much koolaid and liberals start to pay attention to who authentically works for the entire country and who just mouths the words.
Opps, what you call koolaid, we call mature political decision-making.
Go ahead and vote for whomever, you certainly have that right. But exactly what has Mitt Romney provided you that makes you feel comfortable about putting him in charge of our government? Have you bothered reading Benen's 25 pages and counting of Mitt's mendacity? He's not provided anything but "I'm Not Obama". That is not sound national policy, that is just mouthing the words.
Maybe you need to drink some koolaid.
It's likely this President ends his days in the Oval Office with a prayer to the political Gods asking for Democratic control of the House and a Super Majority in the Senate because that's the only way he has been able to get anything done. No matter the fault it is the President's job to pass meaningful legislation with input from ALL representatives of the public. President Obama is very smart. I'm sure he could figure out something, but refuses.
Governor Romney's past has proved his ability to compromise with those from both sides of the aisles. There will be plenty of Democratic representatives in Congress to make sure ALL views are considered. At least we would have a President willing to do the work he is elected and the means to get it done.
If he doesn't live up to our expectations, next election we vote him out until we get a President for All the people. Voting anyone back in because they have an "R" or a "D" after their name would be just silly.
It's unfortunate that most on the right-wing have pushed our politics to this sophomoric level, but alas that seems to be their frame of mind. The fact is that there is absolutely no evidence given by Thiessen to support his allegation yet Condie admitted that they were warned of Bin Laden's intentions via hat Presidential Daily Brief. The question is what's wrong with America's right-wing? They are virtually incapable of acting rational in any form.
Obama don't need no intelligence briefings, he's plenty smart already.
Now, them other two; they needs all the help they can git, since they says enough stupid stuff ever' day to make a teacher run out of dunce caps!
Cheney is scum. He is personally responsible for the deaths on 9/11.
It's called a Psychological trauma.Cheney can't swallow the fact a Democrat rectified his incompetence.And we know,one way to treat a trauma is by talking.
Ah, Cheney, money bought you luxury, but it's never bought you class.
Just because a PDB is titled "Bin Laden preparing to hijack U.S. aircraft and other attacks." what exactly was the President supposed to do?
Not ignore it maybe?
OK, I'll answer this again, just as I did yesterday:
What could Bush have done? On the day, how long did it take air traffic controllers to realize their radio calls were being ignored? How long did it take them to realize the jets were deviating from their flight plan course? How long did it take them to decide to scramble fighter planes, and figure out whom to call? By then it was too late.
No protocols were in place to do any of the above. The FAA and the military could have put those protocols in place literally overnight. But they didn't, because nobody told them to. Try ignoring radio calls or deviating from a flight plan in controlled airspace today. Even if you're flying a plane that weighs no more than a Honda Civic, expect company from a couple of guys with some very nasty stuff hanging under their wings.
GM
There were indication waaay before that one briefing. I posted this review of a book titled 500 Days
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/new-book-points-damning-finger-bush-administration-warned-9-11-earlier-thought-article-1.1156709
I have been wondering if in real life you're George R.R. Martin of A Song of Ice and Fire fame
No, and I'm not the Beatles producer, or any of those other guys.
Yeah, the 500 book is starting to get a lot of attention, including from Rachel.
BTW, notice that the interception protocol that was put in place after the fact was easy to implement without impacting the flying public at all. Fighter jocks love this stuff. Oh, and:
LOL! That is hilarious. I missed that one in local news. Thanks. I remember that the Bush administration considered Clinton to be obsessed with Bin Ladin for no good reason. Lazy bunch of people and everyone else had to pay for their laziness.
Before 9/11, Clinton used it as a distraction, did too much. After 9/11, turned out he didn't do enough. Don't you remember? All it takes is a belief in an alternate universe.
Just typical of the right/wrong side.
as they are the ones who F-ed up by not reading listing or caring about the Intel Briefs so their project their inadequacy's.
No, what we needed was the person/s for whom the intelligence was gathered to act on what was presented. For 8 months, you and your administration didn't act. Why?
So, bottom line, the big news here is that Obama reads the intelligence briefings, while Bush had to have his read to him?
I thought he had them put in comic book format.
"...comic book format"
Puhlease, that would indicate that he can read, I think he just looked for the pictures. And Darth Chaney let "the force" guide him.
To be honest, believing his actions are out of his hands and are guided by a mysterious force would probably explain the utter clustercrap that was the Bush administration. Kind of like taking your hands off the wheel of your car and going to sleep in the back seat because you think auto-pilot will take care of it.
Sounds familiar - "Jesus is my co-pilot!" (eyeroll)
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
Haven't you seen the more extreme version of that? "If God/Jesus is your co-pilot, you're in the wrong seat".
I actually hadn't seen that one - that's funny!
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
Reagan got his as movies, so why not?
What did all those intelligence meetings accomplish for Bush and Cheney? How many WMD's did they find in Iraq? Maybe you need to pass a test to be able to attend an intelligence meeting.
Perhaps a test to provide intelligence. I often wonder that the WMDs currently in-use in Syria are the very same WMDs Bush was looking for in Iraq?
stknmov
Assad always had his own stockpile. This has been known for years.
Under former President George W. Bush, 575 American soldiers died and fewer than 3,000 were wounded in Afghanistan. This means under Obama, at least 1,405 soldiers have died and nearly 15,000 additional soldiers have been wounded, which means 70% of the deaths and nearly 80% of the injuries in Afghanistan have occurred under Obama’s watch. Total 2000 dead 17,519 wounded
thats what briefings do
The in-person intelligence daily briefings WERE FOR BUSH'S INTELLIGENCE gathering. I'm surprised there weren't multiple daily intelligence briefings, but alas, in the end it obviously didn't make any difference. 9/11 happened, an unnecessary war was unilaterally waged, and the economy fell off a cliff, etc. What a waste of time. No wonder the Republicans are envious, Obama "gets it" through multiple means - the first time.
yeah obama really got it. the state department was warned of this attack 48 hours before it happened, but obama was too busy listening to the indepth interview with the limp dicked pimp to go to the breifing.
Why did the neocons lie to George W. Bush? They said the Al Qaeda threat was ginned up by Al Qaeda to distract Bush from Saddam Hussein. Clearly, they wanted to attack Saddam Hussein, and they were willing to tell Bush ridiculous lies to get what they wanted. But why did they want it so much?. Now that 500,000 people have been killed there in our name, I'd like to know why. It cannot be because they had solid evidence of WMD's. The CIA was telling the White House that wasn't the case. The DOD was saying it was the case, but that was because Cheney planted stooges there to say so. Again, why?
I would really like to know why. I have the feeling we won't know for 50 years, until all the actors are dead and gone.
Cheney and his Halliburton friends got rich off of the Iraq War, for starters. But I think the real motivation (from before 9/11) was just to finish what Papa Bush (wisely) did not.
And the level of "intelligence" in all those Bush-era meetings?
Best winger blog about this I've seen is: "Bush never missed a meeting unlike Obama who is on vacation and playing golf all the time." Seriously? LOL
He's not vacationin and playin golf, he's campaignin....
The neocons are trying to reclaim the security and defense issues for the Republicans, but it is not working. Obama has buried Bush, Cheney and the neocons when it comes to the terrorism issue. Bin Laden was only one of many Al Queda that our Black Ninja President has taken out. Cheney is screaming into the void and as we well know, no one can hear you scream in outer space.
It sounds like another hopeless attempt on scaring people and scoring points for war mongers such as himself. What he should be worried about instead is how he intends to stay out of prison for war crimes. Why doesn't he try staying out of the limelight for awhile and buy a set of army men to play with, he can even invite McCain over to play.It is time to let intellegient men like President Obama run this Country. What 9 or 10 houses not enough, they should look into doing some charity work like President Carter and Clinton have done, help build houses for the homeless. He helped cause it.
Bush needed someone to read for him, and then ACT, decider and all, Obama, fortunately does read, a lot, and likely has a better grasp of English then most, hence the tempest in a teahaddist pot.
The GOP needs to deflect the NY Times airing as to how indolent they were after Clinton regarding AQ and OBL, or say it another way, From Down and others placed onto the boards as "legitimate" trolls try reading, or watching this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/view/
Douglas Feith, Bolton and the Neo Con PNAC enabled 9/11, so get used to actual facts, not the ones y'all feel entitles you to an alternate reality.
Bush needed someone to read the intelligence reports to him, and needed Cheney to tell him what to do with them.
Just because Bush needed coloring books and small words to get ideas and concepts through to him does not mean that President Obama does.
Crayons for Criminals.
This just pisses me off:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/politics/2012/09/11/who-should-get-the-credit-for-killing-osama-bin-laden/
"Those who deserve the credit are the men and women in our military and intelligence communities who worked for many years to track him down. They are the ones who deserve the thanks of a grateful nation," Cheney said today in a statement to the Daily Caller on the anniversary of 9/11.
And who are those people? The ones Dick Cheney and George W. Bush didn't listen to...
From President Obama's address to the nation on May 1, 2011
Dick Cheney needs to be turned into chum and fed to crustaceans. And that's almost too good of an end for that treasonous filth.
Robme/Lyan 2012!
it's more important to consider how a president handles the intelligence, not how many meetings we think he may or may not be attending....
Will we ever trust a Republican leader again to be put the country ahead of their own political agenda?
Romney, who lies straight-faced to this entire nation, base or not, even BEFORE he gets into office, will straighten out and suddenly start treating the American people like we aren't idiots when he gets INTO office.
//snark//
It's amazing how many column writers and book authors think they know what goes on in the White House. They don't. Maybe such writing should be classified as fiction.
You nailed it.
1. Draw a conclusion from some third-hand information, 2. make-up your own story, 3. write a book, 4. jump on some head-shows to sell it.
This guy is an op-ed writer. That makes him one-part @!$%# and one part journalist (he's trying to ascend to author to shake that @!$%# part). And, he's writing for a magazine that claims to be a fashion, pop-culture and current affairs magazine. Hardly creditable.
It's the same for the general public. We just can't seem to make money off our opinions...lol
Quoi! & stknmov
I think you two may want to do some reading
500 Days
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/new-book-points-damning-finger-bush-administration-warned-9-11-earlier-thought-article-1.1156709
So do Presidents get gold stars for attendance now?
Oh oH, here we go again, 9/11, war profiteers right? Like Jeb said, George W. kept Americans safe… except for 9/11, anthrax attacks, DC sniper, journalists/contractors getting decapitated, Corporate Crime Wave, job outsourcing, economic collapse, financial terrorism, gutting regulatory agencies, etc…
I know it’s a stretch… but for arguments sake lets say Americans can conveniently forget about the 6570 dead, 31,000+ wounded US soldiers and only GOD knows how many Iraqis and Afghanis. Forget that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove took the good will of the world after 9/11 and turned it to HATE and mistrust.
How these chicken hawks sent our troops into battle WITHOUT PROPER ARMOR or any clear cut plan beyond George W. declaring “Mission Accomplished”. Never mind military strategists didn’t think it was a good idea to get rid of the ONE dictator (Saddam Hussein) in the Middle East that had an IRON BOOT on the throat of fanatical Islam. Remember… the terrorist, Osama bin Lunatic, degenerates that caused 9/11?
Forget IRAN? Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove and Morning Joe can have victory in Iraq when they can stroll through Iraq WITHOUT an armored division and air support to keep them from harm… y’know like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has done several times since the USA got rid of Saddam.
FORGET the 4 TRILLION dollars wasted or the 20 BILLION dollars missing or the 175,000 weapons misplaced or all the arms dealers and WAR profiteers that milked our national treasury. FORGET about all the Constitutional VIOLATIONS, domestic spying, bold lying, Justice Dept. bias, Walter Reed, Abu Ghraib, soldiers getting electrocuted in showers due to shoddy military contractor work…
YEAaaaaa… once again, imagine we live in a country where almost half the population is dumber than a tree full of monkeys. These citizens are so damn ignorant they allowed some of the worst criminals in history bend them over and #*~/ them in the *** for 8 years. Even worse these numbskulls LIKED IT so much they want MORE!
MORE of the waste, fraud, abuse, lies, incompetence, scandal, fear mongering, sexual deviancy, corruption, off-shore tax evasion, media consolidation, arms dealing, reckless economics, deregulation, war profiteering, deregulation, Bush/Paulson corporate welfare, Constitutional violations and a Corporate Crime Wave of EPIC proportions. THE GREATEST LOOTING OF A NATION’S WEALTH AND RESOURCES IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND!
IF THE READER CAN POSSIBLY FORGET ALL THAT… then the WORST thing the Bush Administration DID was NOT raise taxes to pay for the WARS, tax cuts for the rich and Medicare Part iDiot. You want to hear about Fiscal Irresponsibility GRANDE?
Instead, Bush/Cheney borrowed from COMMUNIST China and Saudi Arabia (at outrageous interest rates) AND put OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN under the thumb of MASSIVE FOREIGN DEBT!
If there’s ANYONE out there who can explain away Bush/Cheney Administration CRIMES please reply because I’m NOT GETTING IT! Funny how we never heard any complaints from the so-called Tea Party crowd while Bush/Cheney were spending our national wealth like a crack HO with a credit card. I am somebody who fights back against the true enemies of FREEDOM cyberbitchslap.blogspot.com
©2012 by SPQR
What? Those deferred sons of rich men?
Excellent post, SpoAct. This article got my dander up, too.
So very well said Spo.
Mitt Romney, the next and future Bush...
I guess I'm missing the point of the accusation. Obama doesn't attend every intelligence briefing. So? What intelligence that's been generated has he missed or ignored? How has he endangered this country by not getting all the information he needed to make effective decisions? Hmm?
This really is a pathetic attempt to attack Obama's national security creds. And no, it's just not working.
What I find fascinating is that there is criticism of things that no one except POTUS and his advisers have any real notion about what actually occurred. Is Romney feeling left out and hoping the President will divulge top secret information from closed door meetings?
Iran- The man said he wouldn't do anything until it was clear that Iran has developed a weapon. Given the number of missiles we have in quick striking distance I expect they won't have one for long. Obama is not going to be goaded into being the aggressor.
Israel- Also an election year. Half of the grumbling is to garner votes. We haven't forgotten them. The two destroyers made it to the coast of Libya so quickly because because we have a carrier fleet in the Eastern Med.
As an aside. I'm just old enough to recall fallout from the UN intervention after the 6 days war. I blame the UN for the current state of affairs in the Middle East. Israel had it wrapped.
MORE GOLF THAN LAST 3 PRESIDENTS COMBINED, MORE FUNDRAISERS THAN LAST 3 COMBINED, CONFIRMED SHORTEST "WORK DAYS" of any recent president. But Obama is smartest man alive, So were all safe and good. HAHAHA.