GREAT MOMENTS IN LEADERSHIP: Biden Disappears from the Public Eye When Crises Hit.

At 11:52 a.m. Eastern, today’s pool reporter for the president, USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers, reported “the White House has called a lid for the day, before the pool call time. We will not be seeing the president today.”

Now, the president doesn’t have to make a public appearance during an ongoing foreign crisis. At 2:48 Saturday, Biden spoke for three minutes about the terrorist attacks against Israel, and the White House issued a written statement. He hasn’t done any interviews or press conferences since then. The only thing on Biden’s public schedule today is receiving the presidential daily briefing. President Biden attended a barbeque in the Rose Garden for the White House executive staff last night.

As Rory Cooper observed, the president could, if he wished, partake in all kinds of public events designed to demonstrate the U.S. government’s support for Israel. “He could go to a synagogue to pray with the Jewish community. He could bring his national security team together for a meeting and media avail. He could visit the Israeli embassy.” But Biden will spend today behind closed doors in the White House.

Exit quote: “At some point, it stops being believable that these are all deliberate scheduling decisions, and it is more plausible to conclude these are the inevitable consequences of a president who turns 81 next month.”