Who is leading who, again?

Good editorial on the swift non-consultation of Dubya while the capital was briefly considered to be under terrorist attack this week, with evacuations and all the trimmings... because he was on a bike ride.

That's right: The most powerful figure in the world was not disturbed in the middle of what was momentarily regarded as the most urgent threat to the homeland since Sept. 11, 2001, because he was getting some midday exercise.

...

And by yesterday, the White House admitted no fault. They weren't wrong in Iraq, even though weapons of mass destruction were never found. They're not wrong here.

"This was an instance where presidential authority was not required, because we had these protocols in place after Sept. 11," McClellan said.

It all begs the troublesome question that will dog his next three years in office: What else doesn't the president need to know?

(Brian McGrory in the Boston Globe, May 13, 2005)