Posted on 09/08/2004 7:02:04 AM PDT by No Surrender Monkey
Reporters who tail US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) around the world were surprised by a "Pied Piper"-like method for minimizing protests at a rally in the crucial state of Ohio.
Journalists aboard three buses, joined by a White House aide and a Secret Service agent, were initially relieved when a police officer directed the convoy to follow a police car, lights flashing, through traffic to the event.
But when the police vehicle pulled into a quiet church parking lot far from the school hosting the rally, everyone knew something was not quite right, so a campaign aide went to investigate, then asked the agent for help.
Surprised to hear whom they were dealing with, the police claimed that they had been ordered to divert all buses not clearly aligned with the Bush campaign to the parking lot, sources familiar with the conversation said.
Campaign aides denied any role in shunting protestors to the site, insisting that local law-enforcement handle such matters, not the Secret Service charged with the safety of the president.
Crowds at Bush events are carefully screened, with tickets issued primarily to campaign aides and loyal Republicans, and anyone suspected of being a heckler kept out.
Avowed protestors -- those carrying signs against Bush -- are often parked in what the campaign refers to as "free speech zones," kept at bay by police well out of earshot of the president's speech.
Omigosh! Police in Ohio are following standard police procedure!
Well with skerry threatening the Pres, skerry may be kept away from him.
So?
Were there reporters or protestors in the bus? I'm confused. :/
And this report comes on the heels of the National Convention which featured hecklers of every stripe actually on the floor of the hall.
Accusations of keeping (gasp) non-republicans away from the President ring hollow!
But if they did it, KUDOS!
Same thing happened to us Bush-backers at the Kerry rally in Greensboro yesterday. We were kept across the street from the venue housing Kerry's town hall meeting, out of earshot of the Democratic candidate. However, during Bush's last visit to Winston-Salem, NC last year, dozens of protestors were allowed within five feet of his motorcade as it ventured through downtown, some literally charging his motorcade with screams and banners. Now that's a security breach!
(steely)
Perhaps Homeland Security has some information that terrorists are disguising themselves as reporters and/or cameramen. Osama did it in Afghansistan when he assassinated Massoud using a bomb in a camera. Sounds smart to me. News people aren't above everyone else when it comes to security.
Good and good for the police.The Police have responsibility to anticipate and prevent violence and allow the free speech of officials and safety of those legally invited to a gathering.The hecklers and dim dem violence-prone have been shown as the threat they are.There has to be constant reevaluation of policy to protect the public and system.The policies are not always written down as a paper-trail toward later blame as that is secondary to primary duty.
It appears the police thought there were protesters on the bus, when in reality there was only the Press onboard.
(tweeeeeeetttt!!!!)
"15 yard penalty for using 'reality' and 'Press' in the same sentence. First down!!"
The tickets seem to be more for security than anything else. I had to sign my ticket and then they compared my signature to my driver's license.
SOME, you say? SOME? LOL. Leftist whackjobs constitute the MAJORITY of the modern "liberal" movement toward a "peaceful tomorrow!" They do not have to engage in overt violence. Picture a highly educated, cosmopolitan liberal who expresses his and/or her unbridled hatred, irrational ideas and faulty argumentation with a calm, matter-of-fact, rational voice-over - a sociopath in the making - probably watched all of the Hannibal Lecter movies. "Hello, Clarisse, would you care to join me? I'm having your uncle for lunch!"
But did Bush do anything to stop the heckers?
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