VERY impressive security detail for Obama here in the city..

[FMiguelez]

.

Wow! I KNEW you guys guard your presidents amazingly well, but what we are seeing in Mexico City is amazing...
I've watched lots of "Secret Service" movies (I LOVE THOSE), but experiencing it in real life is different.

We basically can not go anywhere! They closed down a big perimeter, and it happens to be very near downtown, where my girlfriend works. This is the most important part of the city, where all the big businesses are (including 90% of the Ad Agencies and Production Houses), and most important streets pass through there or end there.
Just imagine the traffic-jams!

Obama's helicopters passed right over the building where she works, and she was impressed!
Later, I discovered why she wasn't answering her phone... THE WHOLE agency was in the roof watching the spectacle

Later our presidents will be having dinner at a museum, chat, and then Obama leaves tomorrow.

I can only begin to imagine how much money it costs to guard him so well! But I totally understand there is just no other way. It MUST be done.

[BradLyons]

When I lived in Connecticut, President Clinton was visiting where I lived at in New London. Well they shut down a street with NO access to anyone, a friend of a friend lived a door down....literally his driveway was 10ft from where they blocked off. They refused to let him in, they wouldn't even let him speak. So, he drove right by and into his driveway----about 20-officers and secret service surrounded him, ripped him out of his truck, and threw him to the ground and arrested him.

[FMiguelez]

.

No wonder they arrested him. They expect cooperation. It may sound as "abuse" at first, but the consequence of not doing so could end up being an international catastrophe.
Just imagine, if in a similar situation, they wouldn't act like that, and the president got killed. In a congress hearing, they would ask John (the head of the president's detail): "Mr. John. Why did you not block the car and arrest the driver?" To which he responds... " I don't know, Ma'm. I felt it could have been taken as an abusive behavior, and I did not want to risk that".

Can you imagine?

I suppose this is one of those situations where they have to weight being thorough, even rude, and upsetting a few people, against facilitating the President's murder.

I'm glad I don't live near the blocked area, though

[BradLyons]

Right---but if they would have just let him explain, they could have escorted him to his driveway and into his house. They wouldn't even listen to him, he wasn't even made aware that his street was being shut down. They expected him to stand there for the next two hours.

[mhschmieder]

He needs it -- there was an assassination attempt on his life just last week (though it didn't get far before it was foiled). Evo Morales of Bolivia foiled an attempt on his life just yesterday. Several other leaders have escaped attacks recently as well.

When I was in high school, Gerry Ford visited my hometown (Concord MA) for the Bicentennial celebrations. I was in the marching band standing at attention near the Old North Bridge, and some woman ran up the hill towards him, maybe with a knife, I can't remember. It was very surreal, as we had to remain at attention, but a bunch of Secret Service men surrounded her before she got much more than 30-40 yards (which I thought was pretty far at the time, actually). She was apparently with a group of drunk vagrants by the river, didn't know who he was, but was annoyed at how loud his speech was.

I think that was the moment that I decided I never wanted to be President.

[nk_e]

Here in DC it's a bit of a game...trying to guess the "level" in the person in a motorcade as they block off the streets on any given day. Is it Obama? Biden? Clinton? A visiting head of state?

Obama has the largest detail and the requisite copter sweeps. Biden's is a bit less large but not by much. Heads of State vary a lot. Cabinet secretaries have tiny motorcades. Makes for fun on the daily commute (though it doesn't happen that much really).

I don't seem to mind it as much as I did say, oh, last year or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that...

[James Steele]

He needs it -- there was an assassination attempt on his life just last week (though it didn't get far before it was foiled)

There was an assassination attempt on whose life? You don't mean Obama do you? Nothing in the press at all that I've seen about that.

By the way, we're getting very close to the possibility something could turn political in this conversation... so try and be mindful not to do that. Thanks.

[BradLyons]

James,

I see your point, but don't worry we're not political here...... in fact, let's take a vote about who thinks this is political or not.

[nk_e]

I think that is politically risky....

[anaigeon]

FMiguelez, I know what you're talking about. I'm living near Strasbourg,
where Obama has been a few weeks ago. My wife works in this city, and
she had to walk a much longer way to go to her job. They've been checking
thoroughly all normal persons, but didn't do anything against a few who
destroyed and even fired things at the border of the city !

BTW, Obama has got a warm welcome (a young woman even managed
and succeeded to get a kiss )

I admit we would have been extremely embarassed in case anything bad
would have happened, but, let's recall that in the recent dozens of years,
all these sorts of sad events happened... at home, in the USA !