Well, there’s a third option, Valerie Jarrett could be calling the shots from outside the White House, where ever she is.
Very good question. I'd like to know where Valerie Jarrett was and where David Axelrod was.
Note that the White House has "declined comment" on a.) exactly when the President first learned of the situation in Benghazi and b.) when he first met with his National Security Council on the issue.
It may well be that the President was, for some reason, "not engaged"...