Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says he was the one who woke the president at 4:30 a.m. yesterday. Michael Crowley wonders whether the president needed to be disturbed at all. I’m struck that it fell to Gibbs to wake the boss up. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel would presumably be the first to get the news. Jim Jones might have made the wake up call as well, though the task is probably beneath the dignity of a four star general. It could be that Gibbs woke the president simply as a matter of convenience — that Gibbs was already awake or some equally simple explanation. Of Obama’s aides, few are closer to the president or have been with the president longer (Jarrett, Axelrod and Vietor are the only three that come to mind). It just seems odd though that the first conversation Obama has on the launch of a North Korean missile is with his press secretary. Much of the European trip has had the feel of a campaign swing — a townhall in France, Bush-bashing in Ankara, etc. — but presumably there are some moments in a presidency that call for more than a communications strategy.
