How long will he live?
 

Obama I mean. Do you think he'll survive his Presidency or will someone knock him off?

I don't think he'll survive. I think he'll be your next assassinated President.

The FBI and Secret Service have your IP address as I type this.

lol...I'm sure they do, but it wont do them any good. I support him and think he'll do a good job.

Doesn't change the fact that there's a lot of loonies in the world who wont be happy he's the new leader of the free world.

Shooting Obama to make Joe President??

I don't think that'd be the reason, but I suppose it's possible. To some people he'd be a much better option.

*shakes head* I don't know. I dont think so. I think they''ll be extremely tight with security.

Advice from a Republican of some note.

http://neptoon.homestead.com/lincoln.jpg

Not the reason, no; but the effect. I had reference to (was it Charles I?) telling the next in line for the English throne, "No one will kill me to make you king," and being right.

I think he'll survive, but I do think some crazies will try to assassinate him.

Crazies if anyone. We've never had a rational Presidential assassin yet, though whether they'd be found clinically insane I doubt.

Most famous people have a few crazies stalking or gunning for them, but President Obama is going to be drawing an awful lot of crazies. His security people are going to be very tense from now on. This is a pity because it will make it harder and harder for him to have public contact.

Still, he could guard against sane assassins, by ditching Joe and appointing Hillary as VP. That way, if they kill him, they'd be putting her in charge.

I have the utmost confidence in our Secret Service. And they will have their hands full protecting this family, something they have not had to do for many years. I do not doubt that there will be crazy people out there that try to kill him, I just dont' think there is anyway they can succeed.

Since I've moved to the Washington DC area about 20 years ago, I've seen the security around the president increase DRAMATICALLY. There is no way Obama will be assassinated unless it's an inside job like Sadat in Egypt. Security is too tight. The Secret Service does a great job at protecting the President.

I think it will be hard on Obama, because he will now be isolated from the People from whom he draws so much energy.

Nah, I don't think the crazies are that organised.
They'll sit and bitch about every little thing from the weather to the weevils being Obama's fault, but I can't see anyone taking a potshot.

It's the "inside job" that I worry about.

More sinister things have happened.

I had this overwhelming fear that it was somehow going to happen during the acceptance speech last night. I could barely watch it, I was so convinced.

I thought of that too, Clodfobble. All those people!

Why did you think they limited the crowd? And I saw people checking tickets as the masses were being admitted -- I believe it was invite-only.

No one has learned a thing from the Secret. Sheesh!

This reminds me of my mother. She LOVES to worry ahead of time about things she has NO control over. It's her life. She adores doing it. Me? It's just too exhausting to live that way.

Carry on.

I think there were two sections. An inner section that was ticket only and an outer general admission one. But I think everyone had to clear security.

He's in my city, CHICAGO! He would have been more than fine, even though the KKK's home in the midwest is the neighboring city of Cicero.

He will be the most heavily guarded president ever though,that is for sure.

Wh-wh-what?

Cic, say it isn't so!

:)

It still would have been an easy shot for a well trained sniper from 6 or 800 meters with the right equipment. I am glad nothing happened. That would have been tragic.

For someone who "didn't lose" and "will be fine" you sure are being an asshole this morning, merc.

How is that, I was merely commenting about the subject at hand.

Ummm I agree with Merc, it would have been an easy shot for someone well prepared. I was trying to figure out how far away the buildings were.

I hope nothing happens. I voted for him.

That is actually the first thing I said to Flint when I woke up this morning... and then I added... but not by me just so we're clear on that... but someone for sure will manage.

Didn't some people already get arrested for attempting to plan an assassination attempt on Obama?

Imagine the drama if he did get killed last night? I wouldn't surprised if riots broke out.

I'm pretty sure we will see riots anyway... just wait... the racial tension in our neighborhood is so thick you could cut is long before Obama anounced he was running...

Why the tension?

the neighborhood was a conservative middle income all white neighborhood in the 50s... now mostly retired and aging... being taken over rappidly by very low income black... you do the math

uh... african american

While it certainly is a concern, I think too many of you have been reading thriller type novels. I admitted to this same fear elsewhere on this board, but I right now am too busy being proud of the American people for electing the first Black President of the US. WE've come a long way from the ku lux klan, lynching and the civil rights era in the South. Yep, those elements are still out there, but the Secret Service is very good, and I am not going to let anything mar my pleasure on this day. I finally have regained some faith in my fellow Americans. :thumb: :thumb: Ooooh, and Colorado is now a Blue State. YAY! Take that you born agains in Colorado Springs and conservative West Slope ranchers!

But when was the venue announced? A day in advance? Part of the Secret Service's ability to protect the President is to not give a lot of advanced notice about his schedule. Gaining access to a locked rooftop or open window isn't easy, especially with the Secret Service checking all those buildings in advance and having local law enforcement watching them.

I'm not saying the odds are zero, I'm just saying that the Secret Service does a very good job of making the odds very close to zero.

It will be interesting to see if Obama gets out of his limo during the inaugural parade. He might do it just as the parade gets to the White House, because that area is more secure than the wide open areas near the Capitol building.

I went to Clinton's first parade, and may go to this one. My office will be closed. Depends on the weather. You have to get there VERY early to see anything, and it's a long cold wait.

I agree. It would have been difficult. Just not impossible. The venue was announced a few days in advance. It is not past entities to put someone out there to do the deed and subsequently sacrifice the shooter. Plenty of conspiracies surround Lee Harvey Oswald. I have faith in the protection of our President. I am sure they are as worried about the threat as we are.

The Dorothys will protect him. :cool:

There were thick plexiglass panels in front of him, you had to look closely at the right shots to see them.

Thread-branch:

I'd stick with "black." It's concise. Jesse Jackson's (yes, I saw what he was doing standing in the crowd last night) popularizing of that piece of bureaucratese was notably tin of ear.

*nods* me too. A couple of moments during the speech, I had this itch att he back of my head, almost an expectation of the moment to turn.

:eek: Really? What was he doing? Jacking off? Barfing? Giving wedgies? I saw him standing there but I didn't see "what he was doing." (cue ominous music: duh duh DUHHHHH):

Here's some tin for you: :tinfoil:

Oh my God, you're right. I saw them in one shot, but didn't understand what I was looking at.


Heh. It's like they know what they're doing, or something. :)

Can someone post a link to the plexiglass pix please?

.

I don't think that the people who currently would like to take a shot at Obama have the proper resources to do so, and the people who do have the resources, don't have the reason..yet.

What SamIAm said.:thumb2:

Interesting. I'm not sure those were really there as protection -- they seem t leave a lot of the guy uncovered. :eyebrow:

I don't know Chicago at all, so maybe those of you who have been and know this park can comment better, but I just went to Google Earth and looked at the satellite imagery for this park. The buildings behind Obama in the picture are 1 full mile away from Obama. A telephoto lens makes them appear to be closer than they are. To the left of the picture, in the direction that Obama is facing, are closer buildings that are not as tall. (They are out of frame.) They are about 500 meters away. According to Merc, a sniper could reach Obama from there, but the plexiglass protects him from that direction. Behind the photographer, there is a large museum about 300 meters away. It shields him from that direction. And to the right in the picture, behind Obama, is the lake.

I think they did a pretty good job of shielding him.

How about from where the guy took this picture? If he's in photo range, he's in bullet range.
(I don't know why I'm arguing about this -- I think he'll be fine.)

The press go through security.

But yeah, that would be more of an "inside job" and that's the only way I can see anyone getting close enough. I think he'll be fine. (of course, I did obsess enough about it to go look at Google Earth.)

I didn't :D

As a Chicagoan, Grant Park is on the shoreline basically, surrounded by the art institute and Roosevelt U, Columbia College of Chicago and other buildings that would have been WELL covered by security. To the north is Millenium park, again no chance for anybody. No one has a chance on the ground, the only feasible chance would be on a boat but I'm sure coast guard was there with helicopter coverage, I heard choppers in the speech. The college buildings don't allow anyone who's non student or faculty or maintenance. And it is illegal to own a firearm in Chicago. There's no way anyone could get one into a Chicago college building, impossible for the art institute.

Again, I feel he'll be the most protected president to date.

It's illegal to own a firearm in Chicago? How's that working out for you?

They can never catch the ppl that possess firearms. Only the ones who own them.

You insensitive bastard. Chicago was killed on 9/11...hence the song "The Night Chicago Died."

Sheesh

Not well. Chicago loses more black kids due to firearm deaths than the city loses soldiers in Iraq.

Me too

From an outsiders perspective, Obama is the most charismatic man to be the American President since JFK, and look what happened to him? The two have won their seats in such similar circumstances also. (a big part of that being support from the liberal entertainment industry)

That's the main reason for my thoughts on this matter. My other thought is that he should stay out of convertibles and away from grassy knolls.

I think you need to have a bit of a look at the history books Sam. :)

Thanks for seeing hollywood for what it is

I think he'll get lucky, despite several attempts. Yes, that is the positive end.

A liberal entertainment industry? You say that like it's a bad thing.