Obama moving G8 Summit to Camp David

President Obama is moving one of two major world summits from Chicago to the presidential retreat near Washington, with an aide saying the president has decided he wants a more “intimate” setting than his hometown for the May gathering.

The Group of Eight meeting will be moved to Camp David, according to the White House, but the gathering of NATO allies and the International Security Assistance Force will go on in Chicago as planned in mid-May.

Camp David will more closely approximate the remote settings in which the G8 leaders prefer to gather. Summits in large cities typically see clamorous protests, while those in the countryside are calmer and more sedate.

“It’s not about Chicago being able to handle logistics, as evidenced by the fact that the NATO and ISAF meetings will be held there, which are far larger than the G8 meeting,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for Obama’s National Security Council. “There are a lot of political, economic and security issues that come together at the G8.”

“This was really about the president looking for a more informal setting with these close partners,” she said.

For several months, the summits have been scheduled for Chicago during the same week in May.

But Obama wanted the more informal setting in which to have a “free-flowing discussion with his fellow leaders,” a second official said. Obama consulted with Mayor Rahm Emanuel about the decision to move the summit, the official said.

The G8 summit will take place on May 18 and 19, addressing a range of economic, political and security issues. The president will then host the NATO allies and partners on May 20 and 21 in Chicago, where they will discuss the war in Afghanistan and their planned withdrawal.

Emanuel had personally lobbied Obama, his old boss, to host both summits. It would have been the first time since 1977 in London that the two organizations held meetings in the same city at the same time.

Emanuel’s office put out a statement this afternoon saying he wished “President Obama and the other leaders well at the G8 meeting at Camp David and look forward to hosting the NATO Summit in Chicago.

“Hosting the NATO Summit is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Chicago to the world and the world to Chicago and we are proud to host the 50 heads of state, foreign and defense ministers from the NATO and ISAF countries in our great city May 19-21.”

When the news broke Monday, the host committee first put out a statement mentioning only that Chicago was still looking forward to hosting the NATO meetings. But host committee executive director Lori Healey later addressed the loss of G-8.

“I’m sure it was a decision that was not made lightly,” she said. When asked if she had knowledge of the cancellation prior to Monday, she said she did not.

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