"If you look back, some people have been comparing one of the other candidates to JFK, and he was a wonderful leader," she said. "He gave us a lot of hope. But he was assassinated." Clinton supporter Francine Torge, a retired educator from Durham, January 8, 2008.
“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.” Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, May 16, 2008.
"Hillary Clinton today brought up the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race against Barack Obama." May 23, 2008.
"NRA gathers ammo against Obama." -- Politico headline, June 30, 2008.
Lets get it straight: The Secret Service is good at what they do. No, they are great at what they do. Sure, some crazy might get lucky. But the fact that nobody has even come close to killing a President since Reagan was shot tells you all you need to know: The next President to die in office will likely die of natural causes or freakishly bad luck. Seriously, the biggest risk to Bush's health has not been a terrorist plot or a wacko, but an errant pretzel. The Secret Service is good enough at its job that the number of people who might wish a President ill has nothing to do with the chance of any person succeeding at such a horrific mission.
We should see articles celebrating the efficacy of the true American heroes at the Secret Service. Instead, we see comment after comment that seem to gloss over even the existence of the Secret Service. This shameful trading in fear must stop. It sells stories. It makes for grabbing headlines. And it exploits a myth. From a candidate or her supporters engaged in a tight race, or from a partisan Republican, I can at least understand the adrenaline that might lead to some of the still inexcusible quotes we have seen. But the press is not supposed to have a dog in this race.
Politico should apologize.
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