On Monday, the White House eagerly distributed a picture taken that day of President Obama in the situation room with his top aides discussing responses to Hurricane Sandy. The Obama administration has yet to distribute the picture of the President in the situation room on September 11, 2012 where he reportedly watched but did nothing to stop the Islamic militant attack on our mission in Benghazi that killed four Americans.
Mainstream media press outlets were more than happy to provide content and analysis to support the messaging the administration wished to convey with the Hurricane Sandy situation room photo op. Business Week, for instance, noted that President Obama spent part of Monday in the White House situation room:
Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Air Force One touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, amid a steady rain and gray clouds. The landing was a bit rocky. By 10:40, President Obama had boarded his motorcade and was en route to the White House.
The first thing the president was to do when he got there was to lead a teleconference in the Situation Room with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and National Hurricane Center Director Richard Knabb.
On Sunday, the Obama administration was also eager to show a photo taken that day of President Obama at Federal Emergency Management Administration offices in Washington as Hurricane Sandy approached the east coast. In that picture, the American flag was conveniently placed in a prominent position immediately behind the President.
While President Obama has been eager to report his presence in the situation room on October 29, 2012, the administration has refused to comment on reports that he was also in the situation room on September 11, 2012, watching the Benghazi debacle unfold in real time.