My job is to be a spokesman - the spokesman, I suppose - for the President, for the White House, to do the daily briefings, to manage the press corps in terms of travel, day-to-day needs, access, interviews, all those issues.

MPs have no real knowledge of how to function other than via gimmick and briefings.

Someday we'll learn the whole story of why George W. Bush brushed off that intelligence briefing of Aug. 6, 2001, 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.' But surely a big distraction was the major speech he was readying for delivery on Aug. 9, his first prime-time address to the nation.

I'm the chairman of the intelligence committee. We don't only get formal briefings, but we collect our information from the intelligence community in a variety of ways.

The Clinton White House today said they would start to give national security and intelligence briefings to George Bush. I don't know how well this is working out. Today after the first one Bush said, 'I've got one question: What color is the red phone?'

The White House is giving George W. Bush intelligence briefings. You know, some of these jokes just write themselves.

George W. Bush attended the intelligence briefing every day. Obama has not even attended half of them. He sends surrogates. That to me is significant.

[B]riefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up.

My job is to be a spokesman - the spokesman I suppose - for the President for the White House to do the daily briefings to manage the press corps in terms of travel day-to-day needs access interviews all those issues.

Someday we'll learn the whole story of why George W. Bush brushed off that intelligence briefing of Aug. 6 2001 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.' But surely a big distraction was the major speech he was readying for delivery on Aug. 9 his first prime-time address to the nation.

I'm the chairman of the intelligence committee. We don't only get formal briefings but we collect our information from the intelligence community in a variety of ways.

The White House is giving George W. Bush intelligence briefings. You know some of these jokes just write themselves.

The Clinton White House today said they would start to give national security and intelligence briefings to George Bush. I don't know how well this is working out. Today after the first one Bush said 'I've got one question: What color is the red phone?'

George W. Bush attended the intelligence briefing every day. Obama has not even attended half of them. He sends surrogates. That to me is significant.

No I can tell you one of the first things that happens to a home secretary when they arrive in the job is that they are given a briefing about the security matters that they will be dealing with and I deal with security matters on a daily basis.