Politics News

Ernie Fitzpatrick asked:


Obama has not yet won a primary, though he did win a caucus in Iowa and come Wednesday he will have probably won in New Hampshire; however, we’re now seeing the ugly face of our society once more. Unlike Michael Bloomberg, who if he decides to run for president and can hire his own army, Obama doesn’t have the resources for the needed protection. So, the Secret Service has been called in. Why?

The short answer is that we live in a world of hate!

We specifically live in America where the concept of democracy an freedom gives more people access and opportunity to get close to people of importance. In case you didn’t notice, Barack Obama is a very popular black man and we still live in a society of immense prejudice. Finally, the two words Barack and Obama lead unenlightened and fearful people with phobias that are bigger than their IQ to cause them to associate those two words with Muslim terrorists images that must be eradicated.

Bottom line. Unfortunately Barack Obama needs a lot of protection and the more popular he becomes that greater that protection needs to be.

Secret Service presence has increased for Sen. Barack Obama since his dramatic win in Iowa, amid fears over the safety of the man seeking to become America’s first black president. The Illinois senator’s security now rivals that of President Bush, with a dozen Secret Service agents wearing dark suits and earpieces leading bomb-sniffing dogs through event venues, sweeping all equipment brought by journalists and flanking the candidate as he plunges into crowds of supporters.

“For many black supporters, there is a lot of anxiety that he will be killed, and it is on people’s minds,” said Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a Princeton University professor of political science and contemporary black culture. “You can’t make a prediction like this — like he has ‘a 50% chance of getting shot.’ But the greater his visibility and the greater his access to people, there is a danger,” she said.

Examples from the recent past would be Jesse Jackson, who drew Secret Service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns in the 1980s. And former Secretary of State Colin Powell ruled out a presidential run in part because his wife expressed fears he would be assassinated.

Obama has resisted asking for Secret Service protection but personally requested a detail of agents after friends insisted, has been under federal watch since early last year. No one will say whether he has received an explicit death threat, but officials have tracked racist chatter on white-supremacist Web sites.

Typing into Google “assassinate Obama” brings up more than 2,000 hits.

At Barack’s first morning event yesterday, at least a dozen plainclothes Secret Service agents, most with yellow pins on their lapels, stood guard in and around the Palace Theater, and, unlike other candidates touring the state, uniformed police were also on hand. The theater was emptied early so bomb-detecting dogs could sweep through, and journalists covering the event were corralled for inspection.

Who would want to live such a life?

Only Mrs. Clinton, who is entitled to protection as a former first lady, and Mr. Obama have Secret Service details. Both Sen. John Edwards and Sen. John Kerry, two Democratic presidential candidates last election, were given Secret Service protection in February 2004, after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. So, Obama’s secret service detail is nothing new, just more pronounced. Reporters who have covered the candidate for months said the increase in security was obvious.

Obama’s protection doesn’t yet rival that which a President gets, but that may come as his popularity rises. There are no metal detectors at various events, no helicopters hovered overhead, no sharpshooters eyed the streets from building tops and no black SUV’s stood nearby, but secret service agents are becoming increasingly anxious and very low on patience.

Bill O’Reilly can tell you how difficult it is to get close these days!

And may we pray that civility can be maintained during this election cycle- and beyond.