Obama makes joke about heavily-armed men nearby

You know those muscular guys in the dark suits and crew cuts who are always around the presidential and vice presidential candidates but never looking at them? The ones in dark sunglasses who have a squiggly flesh-colored wire running from their ear down under their short collar?

Those are the obvious Secret Service guards protecting our country's would-be and really-are leaders. There are always others around, of course. You might notice they never have anything in their hands.

Former first lady Hillary Clinton aside, Barack Obama was the first major candidate to get such protection last year. And Sen. John McCain was the last to accept, reluctantly. Such protection does create a distance between candidate and crowds (in the interests of safety) and an unreal bubble around the entire traveling circus.

It's really good for parking though and for zipping through red lights and stop signs, since these heavily-armed folks do pretty much whatever they want.

Anyway, since it potentially involves life and death and agents using their own bodies as human shields against bullets and bombs, the Secret Service protection is rarely a joking matter.

But at a Wisconsin barbecue today, the freshman Illinois senator jokingly offered to do a supporter a favor by getting the Secret Service to vet the young man who plans to marry the supporter's daughter.

“People ask me, 'why did you decide to run for president?'” Obama told a few hundred supporters gathered on a park lawn in Eau Claire. “I’ve decided that the real reason is Secret Service protection for my two girls as they enter into their teenage years.”

The shorts-and-t-shirt crowd burst into laughter as Obama gestured toward a cluster of men in dark suits.

“So whenever a young man comes by…for a date, we’re going to have one of these guys –- see these mean-looking guys with the glasses who don’t crack a smile?”

Obama chuckled with the crowd as the stone-faced agents, who are meticulously trained to avoid diversions even from their own assignments, gazed straight ahead without a twitch.

“They’re armed,” said Obama, whose daughters are 7 and 10 years old. “They’re dangerous.”

-- Michael Finnegan

Photo credit: A secret too

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Comments

[COL. A.M.Khajawall [Ret]]

Dear American Citizens and the mass media of U.S.A.

As a concerned disabled American Veteran and American citizen, I consider it my duty and responsibility to bring following critical characteristics of so called Maverick McCain to you for proving me wrong or right.

"The citizens of the United States of America have the ultimate responsibility to elect the " Right Candidate with the right temperament" to lead our nation' to address our nations present and future moral, democratic, economic, educational, health care, energy, military, and foundational soul of our nation.

In my firm professional opinion that the media should help the common voter to explore and discuss following attributes of Hon. Senator McCain.

1. Does he have a calm, cool, and collected " temper " [ Presidential Temperament ]?
2. Does he have a sound and sustained "Judgment and Caliber"?
3. Does he have a reveal a presidential "Thought-fullness and togetherness" of purpose and positions?
4. Does he lot or little "ex-poser and exploitation" around Washington"?
5. Does he poses enough " Vigor, wisdom and Vision " for our Great-grand Nation?
6. Does he poses foreign policy exploit-es based on " American Values, Virtuous, Vastness"?
7. Does his campaign talk. slogans and ads are based of facts and free of fiction, deception, seduction, and attacks?

If your answer to the above questions is yes then recommend and vote for him.

But in my professional. political, and personal opinion that vote is against the common interests majority of American people, against the world humanity, continuation of status qua and possibly dangerous world order.

Long live U.S.A and its democratic people and their common sense.

COL.. A.M. Khajawall [Ret] MD., Colonel, USAR / MC Combat Stress Control[Ret], Disabled American Veteran and Iraq Freedom team.

[Liah]

A little humor like this one doesn't hurt the courageous secret service man. I like Obama's clean humor.

But remember the KKK groups doesn't care about Hillary neither the elder candidate.

Pres. Kennedy was known to bring new progressive ideas to our society, but saddly the "evil" actions triumphed over good.

[mgultch]

It is good to see him out having a little fun. Not a bad joke, but not a great one. But humor is important in an election. Remember what Harry Truman said: "Any man who has had the job I've had and didn't have a sense of humor wouldn't still be here." Here is a little late night humor! the White House just turned pink at http://www.bop-o-rama.com.

[dave]

any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
- benjamin franklin

and any candidate for president who would make himself a prisoner and hostage, to achieve his goals,
is completely lost and has lost completely.

[Jesse Tomblin]

Obama is all for guns to protect himself and his family but opposes the same protection for everyone else. Obama is again pandering to those he thinks will get him into office. Obama talks change but is nothing more than the same old Democratic whining and pandering.If Obama was for real change he would not have accepted Biden for VP after Biden said he(Obama) was not ready for the jopb of President.Obama picked Biden to give himself clout in this election even though Biden proved himself to be a liar and Obama just proved he was for the same old Washington loose and fast with the truth crowd.

[Jesse Tomblin]

To Khajawall,

You take Obama's side in this election but you do not want to be fair in your assesment of the canidates.You fail to mention that Obama has a over blown Ego. He calls himself the ONE and says America won't be great until heis president. You also fail to state that Biden lies. Biden said Obama was not qualifed for the office until Biden became his running mate. Which is something else Biden lied about, he stated he would not be anyone's running mate. So if you want two lying Egos to be in charge of this nation vote Democratic(an oxymoron since they are really Neo-communists at heart).