Aides: Presidents Rarely Have To Make Snap Decisions At 3AM

There is no dispute, as a dramatic campaign ad from Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign suggests, that presidents get plenty of phone calls at 3 a.m.

A sleeping Ronald Reagan was alerted early in the morning to what turned out to be the accidental shoot-down of an Iranian passenger plane. George H.W. Bush was informed after he went to bed of an apparent coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Bill Clinton received word in the middle of the night that negotiations had broken down in the case of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy whose relatives were battling the federal government to prevent him from returning home.

But in none of these cases were presidents asked to make major decisions. Instead, former White House advisers say, these calls -- and countless others like them -- were largely aimed at keeping the president informed of critical developments, particularly ones that might cause embarrassment if the public learned that a commander in chief had slept through the episode undisturbed.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[PTTY]

Yes they will call her at 3AM to ask her for her VOTE FOR THE WAR to cripple our Economy

[MRb1000]

LOOK SHE IS PLAY PEOPLE TO BE STUPID. SHE IS PRAYING ON THE UNEDUCATED!!! SHE IS VERY GOOD AT LYING TO THEM. MOST EDUCATED WILL CHECK HER FACTS. THEN FIND OUT SHE LIES MOST OF THE TIME OR TELL HAVE OF THE STORY. IT IS WHAT IS IS!!!

[AxelDC]

If there were a crisis at 3 pm, you would have to wake Reagan from his nap or pull Bush from his golf game.

[DennyCrane]

If voters were smart, they would've rejected the 3am on the spot. Do we really want a President making critical decisions when he's half asleep and isn't sure if he's awake?

[rwferr]

The key word here is rarely. Usually they are reading My Pet Goat.

[wadenelson1]

Once awakened, he bolted upright and grabbed his copy of "My Pet Goat" from the nightstand and began reading, moving his index finger along the sentence as he struggled to pronounce the more difficult words phonetically.

[AnninCA]

Well, it's clear then that Hillary exaggerated the role of the president. :)

[AxelDC]

Hillary Clinton has presidential experience like Yoko Ono was a Beatle.