Hagan: Obama is leaving himself open to an assassination attempt
Commentary by William John Hagan
As communications director to a high profile congressional campaign during the 2006 midterm elections, I had the rare opportunity to catch a behind the scenes glimpse of our United States Secret Service in action. On two occasions, President Bush visited Georgia in support of former Congressman Mac Collins. For reasons of national security, I will not go into some of the finer details of our Presidential Protection. However, I will say that some of their tools might have come out of a Tom Clancy novel. I walked away from both presidential visits with a profound respect for the men and women who protect our leaders. Our system is relentless in protecting our leaders from harm.
The system only works, however, if a candidate is willing to engage it. This is clearly not happening in the case of our current presidential front-runners, one of whom will likely be our next president—and I don’t mean Hillary Rodham Clinton who, as former first lady, is afforded some level of Secret Service protection for the remainder of her natural life. At a recent appearance in Atlanta, Sen. Barack Obama drew a crowd of 20,000 supporters to hear him speak at an open air venue. As the first African-American in history to have a real chance at winning our presidency, Obama is tempting fate as a high profile assassination target for numerous individuals.
Despite his high visibility, during his speech in Atlanta most of the cardinal rules of VIP security were violated. First, he spoke to a crowd of 20,000 people who had not been screened for weapons. Next, he spoke on a field which was surrounded by buildings that were a perfect vantage point for any sniper. It is likely that Obama has private security and it is also apparent that they don’t have a clue as to what they are doing. The nation received a clear lesson in the failure of private security protecting presidential candidates when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated after declining police protection in 1968. Like Kennedy, Obama could easily be targeted by an individual who, for whatever deranged reason, might want to see him off the ticket for good, and his current lack of security is almost courting this tragic, and historically predictable, result.
The question is: Who is to blame for this lack of security? There is no doubt who would be the first to be called to task if tragedy befell Obama. Every pundit in the nation would point their sharpened swords at the United States Secret Service. However, the Secret Service would not be to blame. Candidate Obama, despite being a clear potential target for assassination, has ignored his own personal security. Presidential front-runners like Obama can obtain Secret Service protection after meeting some minor requirements, but first they must ask for that protection; it cannot be forced upon them. As of Monday April 16th, Obama’s campaign had not requested Secret Service protection.
Obama has already made some major freshman mistakes during his run for the presidency. But this is one risk that no man can afford to miscalculate. The time has come for Obama to realize that his team is in over its head when it comes to protecting his safety. One watches in abject disbelief at the careless mistakes that are made. The United States Secret Service is the finest protective agency in the world and it is time for Obama to put aside his pride, or bravado, and ask for the protection he requires. The last thing this nation needs is another remarkable martyr.
- William John Hagan has most recently served as Communications Director for former Congressman Mac Collins. His editorial work has appeared in Insight, the Providence Journal, the Houston Home Journal, the Canada Free Press, World Net Daily, Freedom Today Magazine (U.K.), and in other publications. He can be reached at: William_Hagan@excite.com.
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