[Platapus]

The President does not have a security clearance in the same context as someone else with a security clearance.

By the very act of being elected, the president has the trust of the people (no laughing now!) and as such does not have a formal clearance as it is actually the president, through proxy, that authorizes anyone else to have clearance for classified information.

The same applies, to a lesser extent, to members of congress. Only select members who are involved in the most sensitive aspects have a security background check, but it is rather a formality as just like the president, it is assumed that because they were elected that they are trustworthy in the eyes of the citizens (I mean it! No more laughing!)

Staffers, however, do have the more traditional security clearances as it is the staffers who mostly handle the classified information for congress.