The last week has generated many shocking moments, not a few of which involve our commander-in-chief. Conservatives are certainly taking their shots at President Obama. Some of these are justified; others perhaps less so. I say this sympathetically as someone who studies the Middle East, and realize what a damned mess it presents for any policymaker, let alone a president.

That said, the news that President Obama has been absent from so many of his daily intelligence briefings is a stunner. There's simply no good excuse for it. It comes on the heels of reports from Bob Woodward that Obama doesn't regularly attend "security briefings."