White House Defends Handling Capital Alert [View All]

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Thursday defended the decision to not interrupt President Bush during a bike ride to inform him of a suspected threat that led to the evacuation of thousands _ including his wife _ from government buildings.
...
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said a review was under way on how the situation was handled, but he said Bush was not upset that he was not filled in.

"The president has a great amount of trust in his security detail," McClellan said. "If there are any improvements that need to be made, they will be made."
...
But Leon Panetta, a chief of staff to former President Clinton, said there is no reason to leave a president out of the loop, no matter how short-lived a situation is.

"I don't think there is a legitimate excuse for not telling the president of the United States about that kind of potential emergency," he said. "It was serious that it happened and it could have been even more serious. ... That is something that just simply cannot happen again."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/12/AR2005051201316.html