The Gadfly Screaming At The Wall
Incredible: The decision, apparently by the Secret Service, to discontinue security screening at Barack Obama's Dallas rally, has me screaming at the wall. Such a decision is an absolute breach of the Secret Service's responsibility to protect those under its care and is a recipe for disaster.
Local blogger and radio talk show host Mark Shannon noted the breach when he reported the story: Security details at Barack Obama's Dallas rally stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena. The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security. Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on. "Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."
Obama, shown here followed by an agent, was placed under Secret Service protection in May at his own request. It was the earliest ever such protection was provided for a presidential candidate. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff authorized Obama’s protection after consultations with the congressional advisory committee.
Thirty-eight years ago, I worked for a short while as part of a presidential advance team. Even then, long before attacks on President Reagan and President Ford, the Secret Service was stalwart it its zeal and it was unflinching in its protocols. Granted, Barack Obama is not the president; he is, however, a candidate for president and the Secret Service is charged with his protection. To cease the cursory checking of an audience, however "friendly" it might appear, for any reason is a violation of that responsibility and to do it in Dallas, of all places, recalls the nightmare a nutjob can visit upon us. Coincidentially, there is this article today In Newsday by an Associated Press writer: "For many black Americans, it's a conversation they find hard to avoid, revisiting old fears in the light of bright new hopes. They watch with wonder as Barack Obama moves ever closer to becoming America's first black president. And they ask themselves, their family, their friends: Is he at risk? Will he be safe? There is, of course, no sure answer. But interviews with blacks across the country, prominent and otherwise, suggest that lingering worries are outweighed by enthusiasm and determination." (Read the entire article at http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-obama-safety-fears,0,7894734.story.)
Local blogger and radio talk show host Mark Shannon noted the breach when he reported the story: Security details at Barack Obama's Dallas rally stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena. The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security. Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on. "Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."
Obama, shown here followed by an agent, was placed under Secret Service protection in May at his own request. It was the earliest ever such protection was provided for a presidential candidate. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff authorized Obama’s protection after consultations with the congressional advisory committee.
Thirty-eight years ago, I worked for a short while as part of a presidential advance team. Even then, long before attacks on President Reagan and President Ford, the Secret Service was stalwart it its zeal and it was unflinching in its protocols. Granted, Barack Obama is not the president; he is, however, a candidate for president and the Secret Service is charged with his protection. To cease the cursory checking of an audience, however "friendly" it might appear, for any reason is a violation of that responsibility and to do it in Dallas, of all places, recalls the nightmare a nutjob can visit upon us. Coincidentially, there is this article today In Newsday by an Associated Press writer: "For many black Americans, it's a conversation they find hard to avoid, revisiting old fears in the light of bright new hopes. They watch with wonder as Barack Obama moves ever closer to becoming America's first black president. And they ask themselves, their family, their friends: Is he at risk? Will he be safe? There is, of course, no sure answer. But interviews with blacks across the country, prominent and otherwise, suggest that lingering worries are outweighed by enthusiasm and determination." (Read the entire article at http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-obama-safety-fears,0,7894734.story.)
Labels: Gadfly's Columns, Presidential Candidate Security, Secret Service
posted by Mike McCarville @ 12:47 PM
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