Obama wants to keep his Blackberry

[ridata]

Nolo: What do you propose we pay the president? As much as movie stars, so that he has the financial means to protect himself?

[Nolo]

Nolo: What do you propose we pay the president? As much as movie stars, so that he has the financial means to protect himself?

Honestly, the people running for President are going to be as rich as movie stars anyway, so nothing, really.
Having said that, if I were to assume a perfect world, where every income level has a shot at the presidency, then you'd take the static presidential pension of (I believe) a million dollars, take it back to when it was first instituted (as far as I know, that was 1789) and continually adjust for inflation. That should be more than enough for bodyguards.

[TommyGunn]

In the end, I regard providing a SS detail for the president to be a necessary part of national security.  He is the commander-in-chief of the military.  The fact that there's a Constitutionally guaranteed line of successors doesn't mean the C-in-C should not be protected. 
It is really a minor inconvenience compared to the disaster that a presidential assassination would prove to be.

[Nolo]

In the end, I regard providing a SS detail for the president to be a necessary part of national security.  He is the commander-in-chief of the military.  The fact that there's a Constitutionally guaranteed line of successors doesn't mean the C-in-C should not be protected.
It is really a minor inconvenience compared to the disaster that a presidential assassination would prove to be.

Considering how I believe our government should look, protecting the President wouldn't be protecting a whole lot of power.

Let's just say... Minarchist is putting it strongly.

[TommyGunn]

I'm not sure I know what a "Minarchist" is.

There's no doubt in my mind that we've got an overbloated governmment that has effectively turned into a kakistocracy, and is mindlessly and beaurocratically (oooops, redundancy alert!!! ) sticking its fingers into everyone's business and has turned into a major obstacle in the peoples' pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.  This has been going on since long before I was born.  Reagan tried to stop it -- yeah, that worked well; even he admitted he couldn't do it -- and Dubya, bless his cowboy heart, has turned the ideals of conservatism on their head and all the loose change fell out and now we're in a recession ....
I'd go on but I find I am depressing myself.
And anyway, Obama isn't going to be able to fix anything. 
Oh well. Atleast my cat still likes me .....



 

[Nolo]

A minarchist is someone who wants the absolute minimum amount of government. It's one step up from anarcho-capitalist.
I never said Obama would be able to fix anything, he very well make it all worse at a more prodigious rate. But, still, principles are principles.

[Old Grump]

I don't care what he keeps as long as it isn't his job.  As far as body guards I have no problem with that.  Not as long as they are as unarmed as he wants us to be. 

[Outbreak]

I agree, he's entered a public office and has given up some rights of a private citizen. Anyone who enters public service does. Those of us in the military give up certain rights at certain times (1A, 2A, 4A come to mind) and we go in understanding that in order to protect them for civilians, we must surrender ours in some cases. The POTUS has an obligation to preserve his life for the duration of his term in the interest of national security. He doesn't get to decide the best way to protect himself anymore. People who know what they're doing get to make those calls. If they say a Blackberry is a security risk, then it probably is. Not his call.

That said, if I'm ever the POTUS, I'll be CCW'ing the whole time. Just because I have dedicated security officers around me 24/7, doesn't mean there won't be an HD shotgun in the presidential bedroom, a pistol in the desk drawer, and a gun concealed somewhere on me.

[Harry Buttermint]

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