Obama has no meetings scheduled with foreign leaders at U.N. General Assembly

(CBS News) The White House on Monday gave no clear explanation for why President Obama has no bilateral meetings scheduled with the world leaders who are in New York City this week for the United Nations General Assembly. His lack of meetings stands in contrast to last year's General Assembly, when the president held more than a dozen bilateral meetings.

When asked repeatedly about the lack of meetings, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday he was "not going to preview every minute by minute" of the president's schedule. He noted that the president regularly engages directly with world leaders.

"The president just in recent weeks has had intensive consultations with leaders in the region, with the leaders of Turkey, of Egypt, of Israel, of Yemen, of Libya, of Afghanistan, and that process will continue," Carney said. "It is a simple fact that when you're president of the United States, your responsibility as commander-in-chief never ends and you are constantly engaged in matters of foreign affairs and national security. And that's what this president is doing."

At last year's U.N. General Assembly gathering, CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports, Mr. Obama had at least 13 bilateral meetings. He met with the leaders of Libya, the U.N. Libya Contact Group, Afghanistan, Brazil, Turkey, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, South Sudan, and the Palestinian Authority. He also met with the U.N. General Assembly president Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and the U.N. General Assembly Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Republicans have charged that the president is too busy campaigning and that he won't have time to meet bilaterally with world leaders because he's taping an episode of "The View" in New York on Monday afternoon. Earlier this month, conservatives similarly complained that during the Middle East crisis, Mr. Obama gave too much of his time to interviews with entertainment-based media.

While he isn't scheduled to have any bilateral meetings with U.N. members, Mr. Obama will deliver a speech before the General Assembly on Tuesday, which Carney said he will use to lay out "what the United States stands for" and his response to the recent unrest in the Muslim world.

Mr. Obama, Carney said, plans to make clear that while the anti-Islam video that spurred the Middle East turmoil does not represent the views of the United States government or the American people, violence is not an acceptable response.

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"He will also send a clear message that the United States will never retreat from the world," Carney said. "The United States will bring justice to those who harm Americans and the United States will stand strongly for our democratic values abroad."

Carney also defended Mr. Obama's remarks in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday in which the president told Steve Kroft that he still supports the political upheaval and movement toward democracy in the Middle East, even after the recent violence that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

"I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to do to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights, a notion that people have to be able to participate in their own governance," Mr. Obama said. "But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because, you know, in a lot of these places, the one organizing principle has been Islam. The one part of society that hasn't been controlled completely by the government. There are strains of extremism, and anti-Americanism, and anti-Western sentiment. And, you know, can be tapped into by demagogues."

Republicans were quick to decry the president's remarks. In a note to reporters Monday morning, the Romney campaign wrote, "What is President Obama describing as 'bumps in the road,' an attack that killed our ambassador, growing unrest abroad and a Middle East in turmoil?"

Ari Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush, said on Twitter, "I guess when u win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing, an attack that kills an Ambassador is just a 'bump in the road.'" Conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin called the president's remarks "preposterous and grossly insensitive."

Carney today called it "desperate and offensive" to suggest that the president was minimizing the death of Stevens or the other three Americans killed.

"The president was referring to the transformations in the region to this process that has only began less than two years ago, as we saw in Tunisia, and continues to this day with remarkable transformations occurring in countries around the region," he said. "And obviously in these countries there are huge challenges, huge obstacles to the kinds of change that the people in these countries are demanding, to the kinds of governments that are democratic in nature and responsive to the interests of average citizens in these countries."

Carney said that the criticism from Republicans amounted to a "rather desperate attempt to grasp at words and phrases here to find political advantage. And in this case that's profoundly offensive."

[Carlito73]

As a conservative Dem, these are the kinds of things that absolutely drive me bonkers about Obama. In the midst of one of the biggest foreign-policy nightmares in recent years, our president decides his time is better spent with the harpies of "The View" than attempting to iron out the extremely troublesome issues that contributed to the death of Americans overseas. What a shame. Of course, with the Bumbling and Stumbling Mitt on the other side of the ticket, I'm sure Obama will have no need to second-guess this stupid and reckless decision.

[sjc_1]

This is why we have representatives at the U.N. The President does not have to do everything himself. He sets up a good team and lets them do their jobs.

[Lindag20]

In the long term the US would be MUCH better off if we elected our president to ONE six year term so he/she wouldn't have to spend most of the first term running for re-election. Most presidents accomplish FAR more in their second term than in their first.

[Mike239239]

I guess from the right wing misinformed people on here that now the right is all for the U.N? Last week you all wanted to have nothing to do with the U.N. I guess your hipocracy has no limits.

[gahnzo]

Seriously, doesn't everyone know that BHO does not need to have meetings. He can just call everyone up with his iPad and get all the information that he needs.. He doesn't even need to attend daily briefings.. he just goes to Google and gets his updates and current events.. and if he needs to know what to say.. he just let's good ol Valerie Jarrett, or George Soros to stick her,his hand up his ass and make his mouth move while he reads the teleprompter..He is the anointed one.... and he does not need meetings, because as BHO believes.... "I'm better than you".....

[Ledeen]

Last I heard he still uses a Blackberry

[Ledeen]

But you are right, he thinks so much of himself he has no need to speak face to face.... But actually i believe its more cynical , he is the campaigner in chief, its his basic job. Not one of being an actual leader of the United States, the President. He has lowered the office so much its just sickening.

The Middle East is burning, we just had a terrorist attack on our Embassy in Libya. Yet Obama is MIA.

This guy is hopeless, and I am praying that Romney takes it . As I would vote for anyone but Obama after how far down one President has taken our country! But dont get me wrong, Romney will turn us around if given the chance and elected.

Just a couple items from Obama's record:

First time we have lost our triple A credit rating. He said he would cut the debt in half in his first term. Instead he has spent in under 4 years over 6 TRILLION Dollars, (which I dont know if most people understand how bad this is for us- we are hitting critical mass soon! very soon)

Record high unemployment since the great depression, (still blames every one else)

Not one Budget passed in 3 years, he didnt even get a single vote from even the Democrats on his last budget.

Food Stamp enrollment, has doubled up to 47 MILLION!! (as he stated "getting more people on government assistance to create a Major Coalition for their side!) How sick is this? Have more people in poverty, so more people need assistance, and then they create a major coalition to keep voting for those who loosen the requirements for Welfare and Food stamps.

He rules by Executive Order on anything he cannot get passed.

Legalizes illegals by the stroke of a Pen. Now they are writing an order in Janet Napaletano's dept, giving Obama sweeping authority to SHUT DOWN THE INTERNET, since he couldn't get the bill for this passed.

But one of the most important jobs of the President, as leader of the Free World one of his most important jobs is to meet with World Leaders and work for our safety and also the benefit of all. But simply refusing to meet with World Leaders because its more important to keep campaigning is disgusting.

In the last 20 years a president has not done this, completely snubbed all world leaders during the UN meetings.

[obamaislame]

real leaders LEAD and faux leaders go on The View, typical of Obama.

[RollotheNorman]

Yep Willard is leading you lame boys into NO MORE PRESIDENTS in this century. LOL.

[wayneonly]

Romney is sharpening his sword and getting ready to start another war and he isn't even in the White House yet. Where will he get the funds if he gives the 1%ers the tax breaks they demand for their campaign dollars? He reminds me of the "little kid" who stands behind the bully egging the bully on to fight.

[RollotheNorman]

Why, he'll follow Dubya's lead and borrow it from China.

[SomeNameHere]

Those whining about the president not meeting with Netanyahu must not value democracy. You want other world leaders influencing our elections? If you were president and you knew Netanyahu prefers Romney, why would you meet with him right now?

[stormerF69]

Why would Obama meet with the world leaders it is apparent he is not a leader,and has nothing of value to offer them,other than more money?