Manchester NH — Secret Service presence has increased for Sen. Barack Obama since his dramatic win in Iowa, amid fears over the safety of the man seeking to become America’s first black president.
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The Illinois senator’s security now rivals that of President Bush, with a dozen Secret Service agents wearing dark suits and earpieces leading bomb-sniffing dogs through event venues, sweeping all equipment brought by journalists and flanking the candidate as he plunges into crowds of supporters.
“For many black supporters, there is a lot of anxiety that he will be killed, and it is on people’s minds,” said Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a Princeton University professor of political science and contemporary black culture. [wt]
“You can’t make a prediction like this — like he has ‘a 50 percent chance of getting shot.’ But the greater his visibility and the greater his access to people, there is a danger,” she said.
Another black presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson, drew Secret Service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns in the 1980s. And former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell ruled out a presidential run in part because his wife expressed fears he would be assassinated.
Mr. Obama, who reportedly resisted asking for Secret Service protection but personally requested a detail of agents after friends insisted, has been under federal watch since early last year. No one will say whether he has received an explicit death threat — his campaign said yesterday only that “we don’t comment on security” — but officials have tracked racist chatter on white-supremacist Web sites.
The Internet is rife with theories that someone may try to assassinate the senator — typing into Google “assassinate Obama” brings up more than 2,000 hits
Anonymous 1:54,
A frum jew i am embarassed and horified by you. i am ashamed to be associated with scum like you, you are a disgrace and a chilul hashem of lowest order.
To anonymous who posted a comment at 1:54 am. As an African American, I am offended by your comment. I am not a big fan of Al Sharpton, but your comment was racist. I think a lot of other Jews would agree with me. All African Americans are not as you’ve described them. Rayshis chochmo yiras Adonoy.
It would be a waste of a bullet.
The blacks however hope he will be killed so Al Sharpton and his bus-in rent-a-riot crowd can have an excuse to plunder and pillage neighborhood stores to provide poor underpriviliged black families with the meager necessities that they need to survive, such as Ipods, boom boxes, digital cameras, designer jeans, watches and $200 sneakers.
Now what kind of protection does Obama have with 12 white guys around him?!
Hmm. Only in America do we protect a black guy with 12 white guys that do not even look like Obama!! DUH!!
I would rather have Shomrim brains than these 12 white secret service
agents protecting me!
not if huckabee is the nominee.
if huckabee is the nominee he can be easily crushed by clinton or obama or edwards.
If Obama wins the Democratic primary, you can be sure we will have a Republican president.
xcept that powell did run for president
GO O’BAMA GO
ANYBODY BUT CLINTON
I heard once that the reason the Collin Powell never ran for president was that his wife was convinced someone would try to assassinate him to keep a black from being president