So suggests a NYTimes piece:
The furor that led to this week’s resignation of the director of the Secret Service resonated deeply among blacks, outraged that those supposed to be guarding the first black president were somehow falling down on the job — and suspicious even without evidence that it may be deliberate.
“It is something that is widespread in black circles,” said Representative Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, who like Mr. Cummings is an African-American Democrat who has been approached repeatedly by voters expressing such a concern. “I’ve been hearing this for some time: ‘Well, the Secret Service, they’re trying to expose the president.’ You hear a lot of that from African-Americans in particular.”
Both Mr. Cummings and Mr. Cleaver said that they did not believe the Secret Service lapses reported recently had anything to do with Mr. Obama’s race and that they had tried to dispel the notion among their constituents. But the profound doubts they have encountered emphasize the nation’s persistent racial divide and reflect an abiding fear for Mr. Obama’s security that has unnerved blacks still mindful of the assassinations of Malcolm X and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I personally feel that so much of today’s racial divide is perpetuated by those who see the world through the prism of skin color; who conspiratorial believe that everything is due to racism; who believe that America is a racist nation.
According to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President’s Secret Service and The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents, whereas the Clintons were not very well liked by the Secret Service, the Obamas have treated the Service with respects, and agents are said to like the family.
Furthermore, some of the agents being implicated in the current scandals happen to be black.
So much attention is being drawn to the President’s skin color and it is the kind of attention that is poisonous to American society. It’s the same kind of poison that permeates the world of conspiracy theorists.
Some supporters of the president have long asserted that he has been treated with less respect by political opponents and the media, attributing that to his race. That has fueled suspicion that perhaps the Secret Service has not been as committed to him either.
Donald W. Tucker, one of the first black members of the Secret Service, who retired from the agency in 1990 and wrote a book about his experiences, said that he had no reason to believe the agency had not protected Mr. Obama vigorously but that he heard the concern regularly.
“I would say over 75 percent of the African-American community are suspicious and think that could be a situation, based on all the other things they think has happened to President Obama because he’s an African-American, politically,” he said. “They’re adding that to the pot.”
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
As it is normal for the NY Times to throw out the race card, one should not be surprised at this. now personally, I do not believe anyone the Secret Service would ever “turn a blind eye” due to a President’s skin color.
However, what if we ask the question a bit differently.
Is the Secret Service derelict in its duty due to their perception that this President is a traitor to his country and worse?
You see, that as anyone who follows this site knows is what I believe about Obama. So in other words, why does everything aimed at this failure of a President have to be racial? Why in the hell does it have to be racist to rebel against Anti-American policy?
For you libbies out there, I am not in any way condoning such an action as suggested above. But seeing there are folks who want to believe the racial aspect is real, let’s also address the real problem which is this inept half assed excuse of a leader, because in a sane world he is anything but a leader.
I would hope the members of the Secret Service would have far to much pride to do something as stupid as jeopardizing the life of any President and I sure as hell would be the first in line to go after anyone who shirked his or her duties as to that respect. If it is proven any agent shirked his duty, he or she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!
As I know so many who have served this country honorably and see in their eyes and voices, the open hatred and defiance the feel towards this Manchurian Candidate that is our President, I can at least understand the “they turned a blind eye” charge being leveled at them as I would hope they love their country. If, and this is a big if anyone did something as asinine as this, my gut says it was due to disgust for the man’s policies and actions. But derilection of duty is not and never will be the answer. They swore to uphold the Law of the Land and protect a duly elected President. As such, they in the end have to be held responsible if needed.
The Secret Service is failing in its duty due to Political Correctness.
I would desire that the Secret Service be trained well, supervised closely, and do their job to protect the President. I despise the current holder of the office. Nevertheless, he is entitled to the best protection which is possible.
Having a fluff head desirous of making the White House more accessible is b***c****.
The SS should be there firstest with the mostest in keeping our elected leader safe.
This means no prostitutes for SS employees. Ever. This means NO opportunity for blackmail of any sort, at any time. The threat of compromise is too great. This means firing agents who step out of line. This does not mean “rights” to endless appeals and endless hearings. Either measure up or get out.
It is so simple. If we do not want a Garfield, a Lincoln, a McKinley, a Kennedy, somebody has got to step up to the plate!
What a crock. Perhaps because the secret service really sees what goes on and they are a bit weary of the communist muslim dictator.
Before she quit as head of SS Julia Pierson testified in front of congress that she had been cleaning out many of the OLDER (more EXPERIENCED) agents in favor of a young and diverse group (lots less experienced).
I think this has much to do with the lapses we have seen recently.
A female SS agent was ”in the process” of locking the WH doors when the man went in and all the way to a part of the WH where the Obama’s might be.
What ”process’ is in place that leaves DOORS to the WH unlocked after the last tour has left?
Why not a doorkeeper PER door instead of one female (lowered standards) in charge of doors?
Bad policy by weak personnel.
Obama’s weak leadership has rolled downhill on this one.
Lots of agencies do little more than party and waste money.
Lots of federal workers don’t get much done on any given day as the VA scandal showed.
I don’t believe racism has anything to do with the Secret Service’s incompetence. But perhaps you’d be more sympathetic to the opinions of black people who do fear this possibility if you first considered how President Obama has faced three times as many threats on his life as past presidents. That puts things in a different perspective, particularly when one considers Obama’s daughters were the only Obamas at home when a violent, armed individual landed multiple shots on the White House with a semiautomatic rifle and the Secret Service didn’t know for days. Take those facts and consider as context how the typical black parent sees conservative white America’s response to any unarmed black teenager (take your pick) shot dead in the street, reflexively branding the victim a thug who deserved to die while lecturing black America about its alleged pathologies and faults as parents. Throw on top of that the knowledge that blacks are routinely imprisoned at a much higher rate for the same illegal activity as whites. One in three black American men will spend time in prison and “there are now more people under “correctional supervision” in America—more than six million—than were in the Gulag Archipelago under Stalin at its height.” So do you think it’s possible some blacks have come to the conclusion that black life is pretty cheap in the eyes of some of their fellow citizens? And is the President somehow immune? Do you think hysterical accusations and outright lies about Obama make sensible people feel better about his safety, considering the man who tried to kill him in 2011, according to friends, “kept launching into tirades about the U.S. government trying to control its citizens, saying President Obama “had to be stopped.”” The Secret Service aside, people have plenty good reason to fear for the well being of Obama and his family.
@Nanny+G:
But of course, that sort of thing is what Democrats (and to a vastly lesser degree some Republicans.) since LBJ have been doing with what were supposed to be politically neutral government agencies. Getting rid of all the politically neutral old-timers and stacking them with carefully selected, politically-minded and often incompetent “progressives”. Bill Clinton did it with the entire White Staff and WH Travel Office. Obama is doing it on steroids and has included the military, Justice Department, Federal law enforcement and any other Federal government entity Valerie Jarret can think of. He has also been weaponizing and SWAT-ifying agencies that traditionally have no need of weapons. We wondered what this “civilian corps as well armed as the military” was, now we know.
I disagree. Most of the organizations formed around racism are formed to make money; not to stop racism. If we all got along, look how many people would loose their jobs.
Poor choice of words Wordsmith
The article says not suggests that within one group of Americans that perception occurs to some unstated degree
As you can see by other posters the current POTUS the first to win more than 50% of the popular vote twice since Ike in the 50s is hated by some
He has received 3 times the threats as the last even though his approval polls are twice as high
One other thought on this. how hard is it for the S.S. to really do their job when you have Captain blowhard pulling B.S. like this?
President Barack Obama told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Thursday night he was accompanied to the convention center by two illegal aliens, whom he called “dreamers.”
“I want to give a special thanks to two young men who rode over with me from the White House tonight,” Obama said. “Luis and Victor are CHCI (Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute) interns and fellows. They are also dreamers, living and working in the country they call home, and making it a better place for all of us.
“Their stories are inspiring, and along with the other CHCI fellows, they give me great hope for the future. They make me optimistic about what America’s all about.”
I would like to think the folks in the S.S. were dead set against something as idiotic as having ILLEGALS riding in the car with our head moron.
I am a white retired professional who remembers the racial divide and what it took to get to the honor of a black president. It appears that these failures are a passive aggressive throwback. Most government agencies are full of
Incompetents who rise to some degree of power. I came to the DC area as a wife of a government employee.
Cleaning house is impossible ,too political. Perhaps the President needs to be protected by a unit of the Military.
Fewer power issues and a clear directive.
I am of the belief that people are what they do, and if they need to feel better about themselves by thinking that
they were created as being able to judge themselves as being The Best of Mankind, there is no changing them.
Today anti-Semitism has returned in Germany.
Again a clear directive to the ENTIRE Secret Service and removal of those who do not measure up.
?, why does this county need to protect a muslim terrorist. the fool is not a US citizen and has no rights to occupy any office. have you forgotten that he signed an executive order near the end of his first term enacting life time protection from the USSS for life.
@MOS+#8541: Why hasn’t ANY republican looked into the issues you mentioned? I wrote all three of my federal politicians, WHO ARE ALL REPUBLICAN, and asked them this question:
How does a person who has no American birth certificate, is using someone else’s Social Security number, has a fake Selective Service registration, and probably doesn’t even have a driver’s license, get to be president of the United States?
I mentioned the driver’s license because Illinois didn’t let illegals get a driver’s license until recently, and obama is known not to drive.
NONE OF THE POLITICIANS REPLIED BACK TO ME, even though they have replied to EVERY other request for a reply. I wrote them again, and no reply again.
The republicans have to know about the issues about our Illegal-N-Chief, so why aren’t they doing anything about him? The only reasons I can think of make me glad that I live in Idaho, where there are no restrictions on guns we can buy, how many, what kind of ammo, how much ammo, or the size of the magazines.
@Smorgasbord:
Just tossing this out: Klayman files for deportation of Barack Obama
@Ditto: #13
I read about it, and if the judge is going to rule only on the information available, the verdict should be against our Illegal-N-Cheif. I don’t know anything about the judge, so I will wait very impatiently for the decision.
@Smorgasbord: Why precisely is he our “Illegal-N-Cheif”?
Update- I scrolled before reading all that birther blather so I guess, well, never mind. You guys really have a hard time with a black guy qualifying for the White House don’t you? I mean, he just doesn’t belong there, right?
@Ronald J. Ward: #15
I was actually hoping for a Colin Powell / Condoleezza Rice republican ticket.
You’re forgetting that I judge a person by their inside, not their outside.
It is not just the SS who is being degraded by forced resignations. Look at the military, the border patrol and the ATF. Who knows how many experienced employees in DHS have been let go. This is the same thing that Maliki did in Iraq. He discharged the military and police officers that we trained to replace them with allies of his. When the fecal matter hit the fan, there was no one with any experience left to defend Iraq. While I do not expect to see ISIS in force here in the US, this practice here in the US will and has severely minimized the effectiveness of our government.
@Joann Kohler: so you are essentially saying obama was elected just because he was black, or 6% black and not because of his platform. This is the problem. Also part of the problem stems from placing people who are not qualified into positions of importance.