In a meeting held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House with President Obama and credit card executives on April 23rd, 2009, the chief economics adviser, Lawrence Summers was caught taking a nap at the table. Of course, the photographers had a good time with this, snapping pictures left and right of the man has he nodded off, holding his head on his hand and eventually sliding right off his hand before waking up.
Reporters all over the internet have also had a good time with the story, and comments from readers express outrage that in a time when the economy is doing so poorly and millions of people are wondering how they'll keep food on the table our chief economics adviser is snoozing on the job. Some have gone as far as saying his ability to nap during the meeting just shows a lack of concern for American citizens - since Mr. Summers needn't worry about where his next paycheck will come from.
The Caucus reported the story yesterday, with a couple of photographs, including the one seen here. While inappropriate to nap during a meeting, people should cut the man a little slack. The world happens to be in a major economic recession, and you can bet the chief economics adviser has been kept busy working with the President to come up with solutions to the troubled economy. Aides reported that Mr. Summers has hosted a number of midnight telephone calls, in addition to working the normal day hours - it's human to become tired and need to sleep when the body and mind aren't given enough time to rest.