Run In With Mr. Edwards

This is all the work of the Secret Service. It wouldn't matter who the
politician du jour was. Don't blame their over-reaction on Kerry-Edwards or
Bush-Cheney. If the SS decided that the water commissioner needed
protection, you would have received the same treatment.

Bob Gardner

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news91Wc.21556$9d6.17529@attbi_s54...
After living in Iowa for the last 7 years, it seemed that we were the only
ones left who had NOT been to the "Great Iowa State Fair." This year is
the 150th anniversary of this grand old tradition, so last weekend we
decided to check it out.

After the brief, 0.7 hour flight to Des Moines, Mary taxied up to Des
Moines
Flying Service (A.K.A.: "Signature") to park. As we trundled toward the
ramp we noticed an inordinate number of vehicles parked on the airport
side
of the fence. As the prop stopped, I noticed that they were all law
enforcement vehicles, of every type and kind, from marked squads to black
Suburbans.

Jokingly I commented on the criminal nature of that last landing (which
netted me a swat to the head :-), but wondered aloud just what the heck
could justify the expense of 30 - 40 vehicles and crew...

...and then we remembered the season, and where we were. It HAD to be a
presidential election-related visit of some sort -- but who?

Mary had quite specifically grilled Flight Service about TFRs, and had
been
told there were none. DSM approach mentioned nothing, either, so we were
fairly certain that it couldn't be the President. The fact that the cops
were eying us warily, but otherwise ignoring us, seemed to reinforce this
notion.

This left the Kerry/Edwards campaign as the primary suspects, and we were
not to be disappointed.

As soon as we were inside the FBO, the Kerry/Edwards "Real Deal" Boeing
727
plane rolled in. John Edwards was making an appearance in Des Moines, and
we were lucky to get in when we did -- cuz the ramp was slammed shut,
tight
as a drum, as soon as he arrived.

Walking to our rental car with my kids, I pushed up closer to the fence to
take a picture. Immediately a uniformed DSM police officer asked if he
could "help me" -- and ordered me to stay behind a painted line in the
parking lot (that he had chosen entirely at random, at that instant) in no
uncertain terms. So, I took my pictures and left, marveling at the
stupidity of it all.

After spending a marvelous day at the fair we returned to the airport --
and
were dumb-founded to see all those police officers rolling up to the ramp
once again! With incredibly bad timing, we had arrived precisely at the
same moment as the advance security detail, meaning that Edwards couldn't
be
far behind.

Now hurriedly paying for gas and the car, hoping against hope to get off
the
ground before the V.P.-wannabee returned to his plane, we grabbed our
stuff
and made a bee-line toward the plane -- only to have a secret service
agent
step between me and the door, asking that I please wait for Mr. Edwards to
depart.

Now you must realize that my plane was MAYBE 40 feet from the door he was
blocking, while Mr. Liability-Attorney's 727 was several hundred yards
farther out. I pointed this fact out to him, and also pointed to my
children, stating that all we wanted to do was get off the ground before
dark, since neither of us were legal to fly at night.

This carried no weight with him, and he quietly told me that we'd just
have
to wait.

So, I resignedly told my family to find comfy chairs, and that it would be
while. For the next ten minutes or so, we observed at least 50 officers
and
agents, all on the tax-dole, making sure that the ramp area was "sterile"
for Mr. Perfect-Hair. Some were just standing around staring into space,
while others were actively scanning the fence line and building tops.

Aggravatingly, two characters -- obviously pilots -- kept freely going in
and out of the same door that the jar-head secret agent had blocked.
This
continued for 15 minutes, until I could no longer stand it. I approached
the door guard and asked him what THEY had that we did NOT have -- to
which
he replied succinctly: "Clearance." Apparently they worked for Signature,
and had been pre-screened to be on the ramp.

By now thoroughly aggravated, I raised my hands over my head and said
"Well,
screen me. Escort me. Tow me. Do whatever you've got to do to make sure
I'm not a threat -- but we've got to get off the ground soon, or we'll be
stuck here overnight!"

Unsmilingly, he simply said "You're not going anywhere until that plane
departs." -- and that was that.

Finally Mr. Ketchup's side-kick taxied out to the active runway -- and
held
for departure. We all immediately grabbed our stuff and started heading
for the door -- which our favorite S.S. officer was STILL blocking!
Dumbfounded, I asked what the problem was -- and he said that Edwards had
to
be OFF THE GROUND before he could clear us onto the ramp!

Now thoroughly ****ed, I just stared at the guy incredulously. He got
the
message, and promised that he would try to "get us clearance onto the
ramp" -- and started talking into his lapel. He then walked out onto the
ramp, where he was animatedly talking with someone when Edwards' plane
finally got clearance to depart, and blasted into the evening sky.

Within minutes, the Signature ramp was empty, with no vestige of the
incredible security presence that had been there only moments before.
They
all headed to the donut shoppe, and we were able to depart normally, as if
nothing at all had just happened.

Harry Truman once famously said that the "position of vice-president ain't
worth a bucket of warm spit." Worse, Edwards isn't even THERE yet --
he's
just a wannabee! He is nothing, absolutely NOTHING -- yet we are treating
him like royalty, and my family was treated like criminals when we were
anywhere near him. If this is what we have to look forward to under a
Kerry/Edwards presidency, I fear the worst is yet to come.

As we climbed out I laughingly told my kids that this was "your
tax-dollars
at work." I then closed my eyes and wished fervently that 9/11 had never
happened...

(BTW: If you've never seen the Iowa State Fair, it's worth the trip. It's
the biggest fair in America, apparently, and it is so chock-full of
traditional Americana that I felt like a kid again. And my kids were
absolutely in awe of the place, with the rides, live entertainment, food,
and animals. Ever seen a 3000 pound bull? Me neither -- but they have
one.
It's as big as a car!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
This is all the work of the Secret Service. It wouldn't matter who the
politician du jour was. Don't blame their over-reaction on Kerry-Edwards
or
Bush-Cheney. If the SS decided that the water commissioner needed
protection, you would have received the same treatment.


You mean _candidate_ for water commissioner, not the
actual water commissioner. Right now, Edwards is just another
poobah wanabee. Apart from the fact that there is a considerable
amount of money backing his candidacy, he is no more deserving
of protection than (say) the Libertarian VP candidate (or for that matter
Jay himself).

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004, Tony Cox wrote:

You mean _candidate_ for water commissioner, not the
actual water commissioner. Right now, Edwards is just another
poobah wanabee. Apart from the fact that there is a considerable
amount of money backing his candidacy, he is no more deserving
of protection than (say) the Libertarian VP candidate (or for that matter
Jay himself).

Isn't he a senator anymore? Did I miss anything?

"Timo Koekenhoff" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 22 Aug 2004, Tony Cox wrote:

You mean _candidate_ for water commissioner, not the
actual water commissioner. Right now, Edwards is just another
poobah wanabee. Apart from the fact that there is a considerable
amount of money backing his candidacy, he is no more deserving
of protection than (say) the Libertarian VP candidate (or for that
matter
Jay himself).

Isn't he a senator anymore? Did I miss anything?

It is my understanding that he is being protected because
he is the Democrat VP candidate, not because he is a NC
Senator. Did I miss anything?

I'm pretty sure that the decision to provide security to candidates (not
senators per se) lies with the Secret Service and could not be refused.

Bob Gardner

"Tony Cox" wrote in message
news
"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
This is all the work of the Secret Service. It wouldn't matter who the
politician du jour was. Don't blame their over-reaction on Kerry-Edwards
or
Bush-Cheney. If the SS decided that the water commissioner needed
protection, you would have received the same treatment.


You mean _candidate_ for water commissioner, not the
actual water commissioner. Right now, Edwards is just another
poobah wanabee. Apart from the fact that there is a considerable
amount of money backing his candidacy, he is no more deserving
of protection than (say) the Libertarian VP candidate (or for that matter
Jay himself).

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
I'm pretty sure that the decision to provide security to candidates (not
senators per se) lies with the Secret Service and could not be refused.

SS protection can be refused. Nixon, for example, released the SS several
years after he resigned. I'm not sure if he retained private bodyguards, or
whether he just gave up on having bodyguards altoghether, but it does show
that a "principal" can tell the SS to get lost if he or she wants to.

But if I were the "principal", I certainly wouldn't want to. Both Kerry and
Edwards are entitled to SS protection, and they are wisely making use of it.
I'm reasonably sure that Edwards is now entitled to make use of any security
arrangement that Cheney has at his disposal. To be sure, Vice-Presidential
TFRs aren't anything close to the pain in the butt that Presidential ones
are, but even a baby-TFR -- which Edwards certainly could have had if his
people had asked for it -- would have been enough to ruin Jay's whole trip.
So my own personal take on Jay's (very well-written) story is that we should
be thankful that Kerry-Edwards is at least holding off on releasing the TFR
hounds right now. An hour's wait in the FBO lobby is a pain, but not nearly
as painful as having to cancel the entire trip.

If I had been in your shoes, Jay, my own reaction would have been to treat
the security people with over-the-top politenes and kid gloves. As a
resident of a swing-state (Pennsylvania), I can personally attest to how
over-blown presidential security has gotten and how totally disruptive it
can be to our day-to-day lives. On July 4th, of all days, I couldn't even
walk down a street three blocks from a scheduled campaign event, despite the
fact that I had tickets to and was on my way to attending that very same
event. Heck, the event even was due to start for another two hours! What
on earth was I, with a 3-year-old in tow, going to do three blocks away, two
hours before the speech that would put anyone in any danger whatsoever? So
instead my entire family, including my visibly pregnant wife, had to walk
several blocks out of our way for no good reason at all. I think it's gone
way too far.

But I also suspect that everytime the SS encounters an irate pilot in an
FBO, it just feeds their justification mill for keeping all these "crazy
people in little planes" as far away as possible from the people they are
protecting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that you went nutso on
the SS in the FBO lobby. I'm just saying that they have a certain
pre-conceived mindset concerning GA, and that anything you did short of meek
and apologetic acceptance is quite likely to be twitsted into a
justification of this misbegotten mindset.


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"Geoffrey Barnes" wrote in message
k.net...
"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
I'm pretty sure that the decision to provide security to candidates (not
senators per se) lies with the Secret Service and could not be refused.

SS protection can be refused. Nixon, for example, released the SS several
years after he resigned. I'm not sure if he retained private bodyguards,
or
whether he just gave up on having bodyguards altoghether, but it does show
that a "principal" can tell the SS to get lost if he or she wants to.

But if I were the "principal", I certainly wouldn't want to. Both Kerry
and
Edwards are entitled to SS protection, and they are wisely making use of
it.
I'm reasonably sure that Edwards is now entitled to make use of any
security
arrangement that Cheney has at his disposal. To be sure,
Vice-Presidential
TFRs aren't anything close to the pain in the butt that Presidential ones
are, but even a baby-TFR -- which Edwards certainly could have had if his
people had asked for it -- would have been enough to ruin Jay's whole
trip.
So my own personal take on Jay's (very well-written) story is that we
should
be thankful that Kerry-Edwards is at least holding off on releasing the
TFR
hounds right now. An hour's wait in the FBO lobby is a pain, but not
nearly
as painful as having to cancel the entire trip.

If I had been in your shoes, Jay, my own reaction would have been to treat
the security people with over-the-top politenes and kid gloves. As a
resident of a swing-state (Pennsylvania), I can personally attest to how
over-blown presidential security has gotten and how totally disruptive it
can be to our day-to-day lives. On July 4th, of all days, I couldn't even
walk down a street three blocks from a scheduled campaign event, despite
the
fact that I had tickets to and was on my way to attending that very same
event. Heck, the event even was due to start for another two hours! What
on earth was I, with a 3-year-old in tow, going to do three blocks away,
two
hours before the speech that would put anyone in any danger whatsoever?
So
instead my entire family, including my visibly pregnant wife, had to walk
several blocks out of our way for no good reason at all. I think it's
gone
way too far.

But I also suspect that everytime the SS encounters an irate pilot in an
FBO, it just feeds their justification mill for keeping all these "crazy
people in little planes" as far away as possible from the people they are
protecting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that you went nutso on
the SS in the FBO lobby. I'm just saying that they have a certain
pre-conceived mindset concerning GA, and that anything you did short of
meek
and apologetic acceptance is quite likely to be twitsted into a
justification of this misbegotten mindset.


well put Martin, I think Jay may be turning into a troll. Big fuss about
nothing. I find the story encouraging in that the management of the
security arrangements seems proportionate to the person being protected.

as for the local i.e. non SS security, I don't blame the local police chief
or sheriff getting all his guys on the street. No one want to have the
assassination of a candidate on their watch, it is a career ender.

well put Martin, I think Jay may be turning into a troll. Big fuss about
nothing. I find the story encouraging in that the management of the
security arrangements seems proportionate to the person being protected.

Right.

I just did the math. Assuming that there were "only" 50 law enforcement
officers at the airport, tied up for maybe 5 hours, (not assuming over-time
pay, which it may have been on a Sunday), at an average pay of $50K per year
(including benefits), Mr. Edwards' little party on the ramp in DSM cost
tax-payers about $6000.

This, of course, is only counting the cost of security we saw at the
airport. Let's not forget the en route security guys, the guys at the event
itself, and the guys we COULDN'T see. Factor in the cost of transportation,
and you're into five figures, easy -- all for just ONE crummy little speech,
given by a V.P. candidate!

You're sure willing to **** this kind of money away protecting a
vice-presidential wannabee -- and you're sure cavalier about our freedom of
movement.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:0V9Wc.24199$9d6.9615@attbi_s54...
.....snip..... Factor in the cost of transportation,
and you're into five figures, easy -- all for just ONE crummy little
speech,
given by a V.P. candidate!

You're sure willing to **** this kind of money away protecting a
vice-presidential wannabee -- and you're sure cavalier about our freedom
of
movement.
--


Personally, I don't exactly understand why presidential candidates in the
USA campaign in person anyway, given that they all load up the live audience
with their own supporters in advance anyway... (and the Republicans are even
worse than the Democrats).

For all the difference it will make on election day, they could all make
their speeches from an underground studio inside the Colorado Mountains.

Jay Honeck wrote:
I just did the math. Assuming that there were "only" 50 law enforcement
officers at the airport, tied up for maybe 5 hours, (not assuming over-time
pay, which it may have been on a Sunday), at an average pay of $50K per year
(including benefits), Mr. Edwards' little party on the ramp in DSM cost
tax-payers about $6000.

As I understand it, the national party is supposed to reimburse the
local agencies for security. The trouble is, sometimes they do,
sometimes they don't, or don't pay the whole bill.
My solution is to demand cash upfront at the planning stage.
They don't pay, they don't get local cooperation.
The political machines here in Ohio are spinning the "disruptions" as
good publiciity for the communities that cannot be bought at any price.