John McCain often says on the campaign trail that he wants to take on the system in Washington. Usually, he's talking about congressional spending and pork-barrel projects. But he also wants to challenge the system of protection that forces presidents to live life in a bubble.
"It's my intention, if we win this nomination, to reject Secret Service," he said during one of his many conversations with reporters on his Straight Talk Express this weekend. "Why do I need it?"
He adds: "The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy in a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."
McCain rejected Secret Service protection in 2000, after winning the New Hampshire primary. But he wants to go further, rejecting the massive security apparatus should he become president.
"It's the inconvenience," McCain said. "It's the inconvenience it causes people. It's a waste of the taxpayers money. It's just everything I don't like."
McCain admitted that a modern American president can't live without Secret Service protection. But he said presidents have let the protection get out of hand.
He recalled a time during Bill Clinton's presidency, when Clinton and his wife, the first lady, both had events in New York City, each traveling with large security caravans. "The island of Manhattan was gridlocked," he recalled.
The security overkill, he said, causes presidents to work differently than they otherwise might, he said.
How should it work?
"You got a problem up on Capitol Hill? It's 12 blocks away, right?" McCain asked. "Alright. You hop in a car with tinted glass, and maybe one secret service guy with you. And you drive up. Okay? And you get out of the car, you walk into Sen. Harry Reid's office and you say, Harry..."
McCain recalled seeing pictures of Harry Truman walking, almost alone, along the streets of Washington while president.
"I will admit you can't do that," McCain said. "But you don't need 50 cars and SUV's full of people driving along, stopping traffic."
Could he really do that? Could he shrink down the security apparatus that has grown so large? Would it be a wise thing?
Probably not. Presidents always chafe under the watchful attention that the Secret Service provides. But in the end, the agency gets it way, as they did when they closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House after the September 11 attacks, despite protests.
And yet, one gets the sense that McCain is a stubborn man, who just might complain even more than the office's previous occupants.
"It's my intention, if we win this nomination, to reject Secret Service," he said during one of his many conversations with reporters on his Straight Talk Express this weekend. "Why do I need it?"
He adds: "The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy in a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."
McCain rejected Secret Service protection in 2000, after winning the New Hampshire primary. But he wants to go further, rejecting the massive security apparatus should he become president.
"It's the inconvenience," McCain said. "It's the inconvenience it causes people. It's a waste of the taxpayers money. It's just everything I don't like."
McCain admitted that a modern American president can't live without Secret Service protection. But he said presidents have let the protection get out of hand.
He recalled a time during Bill Clinton's presidency, when Clinton and his wife, the first lady, both had events in New York City, each traveling with large security caravans. "The island of Manhattan was gridlocked," he recalled.
The security overkill, he said, causes presidents to work differently than they otherwise might, he said.
How should it work?
"You got a problem up on Capitol Hill? It's 12 blocks away, right?" McCain asked. "Alright. You hop in a car with tinted glass, and maybe one secret service guy with you. And you drive up. Okay? And you get out of the car, you walk into Sen. Harry Reid's office and you say, Harry..."
McCain recalled seeing pictures of Harry Truman walking, almost alone, along the streets of Washington while president.
"I will admit you can't do that," McCain said. "But you don't need 50 cars and SUV's full of people driving along, stopping traffic."
Could he really do that? Could he shrink down the security apparatus that has grown so large? Would it be a wise thing?
Probably not. Presidents always chafe under the watchful attention that the Secret Service provides. But in the end, the agency gets it way, as they did when they closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House after the September 11 attacks, despite protests.
And yet, one gets the sense that McCain is a stubborn man, who just might complain even more than the office's previous occupants.
--Michael D. Shear
1 comment:
SPB not need to worry McCain will never be President so all this is nothing to talk about. Yes there was a time in 2000 when he had a chance to be President but he sold out Americans to George W. Bush for a pay off and a promise they he will never get. Yes the Bush base has been given to Rudy as McCain looks like the idiot he truly is. There's a price we all pay when we sell our souls to Satan and McCain did just that.
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