The day before the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the director of the U.S. Secret Service told Congress in a public hearing that another prominent political figure is completely unprotected by his agency: Republican nominee-to-be John McCain.
"Statutorily, he is not required to take protection," Director Mark Sullivan said when asked about McCain's security during a hearing on the agency's budget. "As far as an actual request, we have not gotten one. We have no involvement at this point."McCain has, so far, resisted calls for his campaign to come under the umbrella of Secret Service protection, "fearing it would interfere with his brand of intimate campaigning among voters. McCain also has said he'll try to last as long as he can without (Secret Service protection).
"I've never done it," McCain said in November ... "It's an invasion of your ability to have contact with voters."
Um, does anyone see the sense in pointing this out in a public hearing? Wouldn't it have been far better judgment for the congressman to expose McCain's glaring vulnerability behind closed doors?
It reminds me of that exchange from "In the Line of Fire," where Clint Eastwood plays aging Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan, who is desperately trying to convince superiors that there was a legitimate threat to the president:
Security aide: They won't cancel. You know what Sargent said.Thanks to the reckless irresponsibility of one congressman, Americans can only hope that there is no clear and present threat to the senior senator from Arizona.
Horrigan: At least make the arrival underground. Don't give Leary a target.
Aide: They want a big show. They said unless we have proof --
Horrigan: The proof may just be a dead president.
