Report on Obama Security

Since our new President likes large events I’ve been wondering about the overall security. Here is an exclusive report from Andrew Haas in Chicago on his encounters at the Obama acceptance speech.

The Obama Security at Grant Park
by
Andrew Haas, Chicago

I was there, one of the first 10,000 they let in. Everyone who went into the rally had to go through three security checkpoints. At the first one, you just had to show your ticket and they briefly looked in your bag if you had one on you. At the second, you had to show your ticket, photo ID (your name was on your ticket), and they again looked in your bag. The first two check points were manned by just rent-a-cops. The third check point made me laugh. They had 15 metal detectors, each with three or four TSA — TSA!! — employees, and it was just like the airport except you didn’t have to take off your shoes. All people at the rally went through this process. There were at least three military type helicopters circling the rally, and as far as I could tell it was a no-fly zone for news and other aircraft. The field was surrounded on two sides by tall skyscrapers, and we saw secret service on top of every building around the area. Also, there were secret service on top of the giant light poles that they had (like they have in football and baseball fields). And those are only the ones we saw. They also had the whole place wired up with security cameras, the whole deal.