McCain Rejects Secret Service Protection

"Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) may be the presumptive GOP nominee for president, but, by his own wishes, he is not being protected by the Secret Service." The Hill reports.

"He has not requested protection," Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told a congressional subcommittee this morning. "We have no involvement at this point."

In opting not to take the protection, McCain is following through on plans he outlined to reporters late last year on his Straight Talk Express campaign bus.

Members of the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee were surprised by Sullivan's revelation. Sullivan said his agency had been in contact with McCain's staff. But a candidate has no legal requirement to take protection.

Last November, McCain told reporters he felt such protection was an "inconvenience" and too expensive for tax payers:

"It's my intention, if we win this nomination, to reject Secret Service," he said during one of his many conversations with reporters on his Straight Talk Express this weekend. "Why do I need it?"

He adds: "The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy in a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."

McCain rejected Secret Service protection in 2000, after winning the New Hampshire primary. But he wants to go further, rejecting the massive security apparatus should he become president.

"It's the inconvenience," McCain said. "It's the inconvenience it causes people. It's a waste of the taxpayers money. It's just everything I don't like."

Comments

[Hillrick]

Aaand if you were POTUS *cough -gag*choke* and someone kidnapped you and ransomed you then how much would that cost? It's like Schwarzenegger saying he would eliminate two ply tp, go to single ply, in state buildings to save California money...penny wise and pound foolish.

[2008andbeyond]

Perhaps he's trying to appear as the tough soldier, or maybe he has been told that there are no threats on his life.

Should he become PTOUS, he would need to change that attitude. With that said, isn't almost insulting to know that people feel no passion for or against you and looney lefters would rather you live so they can run against you.

[lcats]

I am close to McCain's age, so I can identify with his thinking "the possibility I could go from a heart attack, stroke, or other quick event is probably statistically more likely than being shot. So why bother."

Also, from all that I have ready about his behavior throughout his life, the macho stance is very ingrained; call it denial. "Hell, if I could survive all those years at the Hanoi Hilton, this is a cake walk."

Besides, in modern times, do we have any information that the SS has actually prevented bullets from hitting the person they are protecting? I can't recall any.

[sacto92]

SS stopped gun attacks on FDR, Truman, Nixon, Ford

[Ouroboros]

"We're not stopping for directions! I know where we are! Me driving our family car off this cliff is intentional! Bah!"

[CostaMesaJoe]

Anyone McCain's age defies death by simply AWAKING every morning - so this reckless behavior shouldn't be surprising......

[plainsman]

If, God forbid, he becomes the next POTUS, he learn very quickly that the Secret Service is not optional.

[fivecard]

Is it me, or does this seem kind of reckless? The guy is the Republican nominee for president of the United States. He should have Secret Service protection. We're spending $12 billion a month in Iraq with no end in sight. A few bucks for some Secret Service agents strikes me, by comparison, as small potatoes....

[jerseywolf]

I don't support McCain. But he should accept Secret Service protection. It's quite insane to do otherwise. This doesn't show very good judgment on his part.

[Graywolf48]

HuffPost's Pick

McNuts just might have a point. I remember a quote by Michael Corleone from the Godfather II film: "If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it's that you can kill anyone." If some lone psychopath like Sirhan Sirhan, Lee Oswald, David Hinkley or Arthur Bremer decided one day that McCain was a fair target and placed themselves in the right place at the right (or wrong) time there is little the Secret Service can do. If by luck an agent can "take a bullet" for McCain, he (McCain) might survive. But there is a good chance he might be killed. The problem here is McCain tempts fate or even thumbs his nose at it. Many would be assassins might be prevented from acting because of the known Secret Service protection, but if it is public knowledge that this man is a free and open target, he's just begging for trouble. Plus, McNuts is just a small part of the equation, his assassination as a candidate or a President would have far reaching consequences for the nation and the world. He's being arrogant, thoughtless, selfish and very foolish. There are better ways to save greater amounts of taxpayer dollars. Like ending the Iraq war, for one. McNuts displays too many intellectual flaws we do not need in a President.

[vippy]

Is that why they removed the door frames where RFK was killed because it contained so many
different type of bullets.

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

No, they always like to do that kind of thing because it's so much fun to see all the conspiracy theorists get even crazier.

[Kundera]

So Huffpost supports calling McCain, McNuts. Real classy operation you got.

[Ramirez]

HuffPost's Pick

You made good points. However, referring to McCain as "McNuts" is childish and cheapens your post.

[eugenegerard]

The saving the taxpayers part is the joke here. This guy is in the pockets of the lobbyests and the military industrial complex. If he becomes president, $4,000.00 bathroom seats will double to $8,000.00.

[owiseone]

Yeah, he probably has hired his own most trusted bodyguards, and doesn't trust the Secret Service. That old saying "it takes one to know one" enters in here. McCain knows where the bodies are buried and doesn't want to be one.

[JRandomPoster]

McCain says:

"The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy in a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."

But why doesn't McCain say:

"The day that Homeland Security can assure me that if going about our day to day lives and there's a guy willing to die for what he believes in, that they can stop that guy with all their super-cons­titutional powers, then I'll say fine. But the day they tell me, 'well, we can't guarantee it,' then fine, I'll take my chances."

?

[Darsan54]

I am no fan of John McCain, but this action smacks of macho bravado. (Look, I'm so tough I don't need protection.) I don't begrudge the man some protection nor wish him to die from an idiot's bullet. You know there are people out there who would take this as a challenge. Beside, the Rethug Right would immediately accuse the Clintons of engineering a plot.

[Durango]

He can certainly afford to pay for his own protection.

Or rather his wife can afford it. Did they hire Blackwater?

But this isn't smart. We do not need McCain to get wacked. That would be bad, for the country bad for everyone.

[FullChat]

"Did they hire Blackwater?"

ROTFLMAO!!

[mengwise36]

What do you call cutting two chuncks of an article to make a story when the full article tells a completely different story? Smear?

And judging by the comments I read so far, all the liberal fishes are taking the bait. Read the full article and see how silly you people have been.

[willval13]

Actually, after reading the full article, I think those excerts are pretty representative of the gist of it. McCain thinks SS is overbearing and wasteful, so he's rejecting their protection. He agrees that a president or candidate should have some protection, just not the SS. I think you may be inserting your own interpretation into it, but whatever you imagine is there doesn't really seem to be.

[stepintothelight]

I am no McCain or Hillary fan but in this country we all live in today I would prefer they were ALL under protection. We may exchange harsh and cruel words here but there are those out there that are so confused as to where opinion stops and action starts.