The President Obama Show

Usedcarsalesman fears that presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee and potential U.S. President, Sen. Barack Obama is going to “take a bullet.”

Actually, an old-school assassination attempt by a lone gunman using a mere firearm maybe be the weakest of the death threats this candidate may face. In this day and age, Usedcarsalesman believes that the threats to our nation’s leaders -- such as Obama -- are a lot worse

• The Terrorist Threat Against Obama

Seven years ago, we saw how 19 hijackers manage to take over 4 commercial jets and obliterate themselves, hundreds of passengers, The World Trade Center and several thousand people in it and who came to aid after the disaster, as well as a big section of the Pentagon and its personnel therein. We saw how those 19 terrorists were willing to “trade their lives” to cause the terrible death and damage they did to this nation

If Usedcarsalesman remembers the movie, In the Line of Fire, correctly, the assassin played by John Malkovich quoted John F. Kennedy as saying: “…all someone needs is a willingness to trade his life for the President's, right?” Clint Eastwood, playing a long time Secret Service Agent in the film, agreed.

9/11 would suggest that there are definitely terrorist groups out there who would be willing to collectively “trade their lives” for the life of a U.S. President.

Actually such a “team” assassination effort was attempted against one U.S. President: George H. W. Bush, the 41^st U.S. President. In April 1993, sixteen men, apparently in the employment of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, smuggled a car bomb into Kuwait

with the intent of killing President George H.W. Bush as he spoke at Kuwait University. However, Kuwaiti security forces apparently discovered the bomb and these assassins were apprehended.

That such a similar attempt has not been made on the current president, President George W. Bush, since 9/11 is quite surprising. Usedcarsalesman is forced to give the W. Bush administration credit for apparently quietly, yet very effectively beefing up Homeland Security and apprehending or preventing the entry of such terrorist enemies. 

Still Usedcarsalesman is compelled to consider the following: What if a cadre of terrorists – long time “sleepers” if you will – are already in the U.S.?  They haven’t “hit” W. Bush, but they’ve been plotting, organizing, training, and gathering intelligence for when they see a more popular opportunity present itself.

And what if the next President is Sen. Barack Obama – he like John F. Kennedy or even Ronald Reagan -- a veritable “Rock Star” President who would likely enjoy international popularity and strengthen our nation’s ostensibly poor international relations?

Killing a leader such as Obama in an organized suicide mission would be a great victory for terrorists and a tragedy not just felt by the U.S. and its seemingly few allies, but by the entire World! What more prestige and attention could terrorists possibly want?

• The Presumed Domestic Threat Against Obama

What can Usedcarsalesman say? He watches a lot of television, television that leads him to think that there are higher than normal domestic threats versus a President Barack Obama.

If Sen. Obama is nominated and possibly elected, then you are sure to have all the “History Channel” anti-black groups in the United States – Nazis, Skinheads, Aryan Brotherhood, KKK – looking to “off” this potential or new Commander-in-Chief.  And in this case we are just talking white-supremacist groups, outfits with relatively high visibility that are already on the “radar screen” of domestic law enforcement.

This doesn’t even include the lone wolf-type “Eric Rudolphs,” racist “Lee Harvey Oswalds,” modern day “John Wilkes Boothes” or other individual members of “Jody Foster’s Army” out there in 2008 – the lone guys (or gals) that have historically been the ones to carry out Presidential assassination attempts.

And Usedcarsalesman is assuming based on precedent that these white supremacist groups and/or these lone individuals are not willing to trade their lives for the life of the President.  However, throw in a little misguided religious fervor and, these days, who’s to say?

• Speculation With Regards to Unusual Security Measures to Protect Sen. Obama Thus Far

Usedcarsalesman would like to believe the relative media silence on the matter of threats to Sen. Barack Obama is an indication that there is heightened level of behind-the-scenes security currently active to protect said candidate.

Theoretically, Secret Service personnel may have long ago met face to face with heads of major domestic news outlets to emphasize that it is in the interest of U.S. National Security to raise no issue of threats to Sen. Barack Obama. As in, “Do not bring the matter in to the public dialogue unless an incident forces it …The more the issue of assassination circulates, the more it stimulates attention-seeking bad guys to contemplate it.”

Nevertheless if he theorizes that the Secret Service is doing a monumental amount of behind-the-scenes work to safeguard presumptive Democratic Nominee and potential President Barack Obama, then Usedcarsalesman has to ask himself why he is still concerned.

Maybe it’s because he feels Obama is still too exposed.

• Usedcarsalesman's Security Suggestions For a President Obama (Or Any Future U.S. President)

Usedcarsalesman is not one of these U.S. citizens who cares a great deal if a U.S. President throws out the game ball or visits a disaster area. Usedcarsalesman cares only about good national legislation, good execution of said legislation and a safe and happy citizenry, all in accords with the Constitution (unless National Security gets in the way)

So, because of that perspective, Usedcarsalesman believes it’s unnecessary to risk Obama’s, life by exposing him directly to the public. In fact, as President he should do the following instead:

1) End face-to-face contact with the public. No walking on the street shaking hands in parades, no podium speeches in public or private or to donors, no visits to disaster sites, no throwing out game balls, none of that.

2) TRAVEL NOWHERE. Meaning, if he needs to speak to the public, an individual person, or a foreign leader he does it by video only. With security threats, it’s silly and logistically impossible to insure Obama’s security hop-scotching the man around all over the world.

But of course with Obama so shut off from the public, people will moan: Oh now we are led by an Emperor in a Forbidden City, not a President… Our Democratic Republic is through. And the President – say Obama -- will complain too: How the heck am I going to get reelected for a second term if I can’t leave the White House and get out to see the public?

Obviously, cutting off Obama’s exposure to the public by conventional means will require a politically stabilizing counter-measure – Something to allow him to reach the public in ways not eliminated by the aforementioned.

Usedcarsalesman would advocate that Obama be the first U.S. President to conduct most of his work at the White House on video always viewable to the public – that is when he is not discussing national security matters, politically sensitive topics, or engaged in other matters – family and so forth -- of his choosing. This could be for hours a day, who knows?

In fact, this new televised arrangement could ultimately turn in to the most popular television or web program in the world. And Obama, a serious Rock Star Nominee/U.S. President is the perfect for showing how high profile people should lead (while staying alive) in this day and age of high security.

Yes, it is ironic that within this security dynamic, the public, not a world leader, turns in to Orwell’s “Big Brother.” And, yes, Obama’s life as President may start to resemble that of Jim Carrey’s in The Truman Show (which probably describes the life of a U.S. President to some extent already). But hey, Usedcarsalesman would rather see a leaders such as Obama on web video alive than in person and not.