A Democrat in Dallas

Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison

Links to the articles:
http://www.star-telegram.com/667/story/486413.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/490522.html

From the second of two articles in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about an Obama campaign rally in Dallas yesterday:

Secret Service defends security strategy at rally in Reunion Arena

By JACK DOUGLAS Jr.

Star-Telegram staff

The U.S. Secret Service on Friday defended its handling of security during a huge rally in downtown Dallas for Barack Obama, saying there was no "lapse" in its "comprehensive and layered security plan," which called for some people to be checked for weapons while others were not.

A report in the Star-Telegram that said some security measures were lifted during Wednesday's rally sparked a public outrage across the country, with most people saying they were shocked that a routine weapons search was lifted at the front gates of Reunion Arena an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage.

The articles tell of a huge crowd at a Dallas rally that was not fully screened for possible weapons.

The Dallas Police Department and the Secret Service are disagreeing on whether this was a lapse by Obama's Secret Service detail but the fact remains people got in without being screened.

To make matters worse the Star-Telegraph reports that this may not be the first time that this has happened citing an email from Jeremy Dibbell of Boston who said that the same relaxing of procedures happened at a rally he attended in Boston.

The Secret Service says that it is normal procedure not to screen every single person. What they have are random checks of people and their belongings.

I'm not surprised by this but it is worrisome.

In all the awe over Obama's swelling crowds it's disturbing that no one has really thought about the quality of the man's security apart from the occasional fear that pops up in most people when they remember how easily assassinations of the past happened.

John Hinckley Jr. was an insane man who had an obsession with Jodie Foster that his mind twisted into a reason to shoot Ronald Reagan.

Squeaky Fromme was a Manson follower who got up close to Gerald Ford with a loaded .45 but mercifully didn't pull the trigger.

Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan and John Wilkes Booth succeeded in killing their targets with only Booth giving a clear reason why he felt the need to kill.

Turner Classic Movies is running a Alfred Hitchcock marathon today. In between my normal weekend chores around the house I've gotten to see the results of human madness from the old master.

Hitchcock's work always revolved around the idea of inexorability of a person's madness and it's consequences. It is a force that can't be stopped with love, friendship or reason.

I guess part of me isn't that worried about Obama's security because if he will be assassinated there probably won't be anything anyone could have done about it.

That isn't comforting I know because I suppose it's a thought that is too cold but also because that idea goes against our own ideas of the importance of some people, to believe that they can fall for the most trivial of reasons but it does happen.

Of course, like everyone, I hope that doesn't happen to Obama.

What anger I do have toward the Secret Service is because I think their job is more about the appearance of top-notch security than the actual complex plans they have to protect someone.

The most damaging thing about this incident is that it makes the Secret Service seem clumsy and fallable. For someone who is sick and would like the free publicity that would come from killing Obama, what is there to make them hesitate now?

In a crowd of thousands of people why not take the chance of sneaking in a weapon, since they not only don't check everyone but even the cooperation between the Secret Service and the local police doesn't seem very well coordinated.

We can only hope that whatever prompted this incident that the security around Obama will take time to learn form this and not just point fingers.

That idea of mutual cooperation could also be learned by Jessica Santillo a spokes-idiot from the Clinton campaign who when asked about the incident responded that their campaign works to "protect the safety of everyone who attends our campaign events."

The Idiot to English translation of that remark is "We try to keep everyone safe unlike that
feckless Obama guy."

If Obama is shot I guess Hillary will trot out Chelsea to say "At least my parents love me enough to be able to dodge a bullet." or some other nonsense.

The Clintons are a bunch of classless assholes.