Dwayne

President Bush is going to a small town in Ohio called Lebanon and is eating at Ohio's oldest in. During this time all of main street with be shut down to everybody unless they have a ticket. What gives the President the right to shut down a busy part of town and cause drivers to half to take a long detour around this major part of the town? Please someone tell me why Bush has the privlage of creating chaos and stress in peoples lives for himself.

Phaenx

What right does the President of the United States have to shut down a public street? I have no clue. But you could start by asking the local city council, they were probably the ones who gave the order to close the area off.

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pan6467

It's common to shut down large areas for security and has been for a very long time. JFK's infamous trip to Dallas shut down a huge part of that town. Of course we know how great security was there.

As for Lebanon it is a town of maybe 25,000 close to Cincy. Very heavy GOP area. I think President' Taft's birthplace was nearby.

Now the ticket part, I have problems with if the people had to pay. If it's an open free event and the tickets are for people who passed security checks and that's it then that's fine and I in fact think that is a good idea.

If Bush is closing a whole town and then charging then this is something people need to know about and Bush needs to explain why he did it.

To use your authority to close a town down for a fundraiser is unfair to his opponent, is a blatant abuse of power and shows no respect to the people.

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djtestudo

Is it a ticket, as in you can only go down this street if you pay?

Or is it a pass, as in you have a need to go down this street, so you can, but the general public can't.

I can see it being the second one, for security reasons. If it's the first, then it's truly stupid.

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irateplatypus

i dunno...

i'll ask my good friend, his name is John Fitzgerald Ken...

oh wait, nevermind.

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Dwayne

From what I have been told by my friends in Lebanon, you have to pay. I agree with
pan6467 that it is a blatent overuse of power. I find it redicules that they would shut down a street for his safety but they wont lift a finger for the common man.

fuzyfuzer

when he came to st. llouis recently that shut down three important parts of the major highways in the area

earlier when he came to my specific part of St. Louis they shut down all roads and side streets in a 2 mile radius but i got to meet him so that was cool (they also welded every single manhole cover shut, the city was working for weeks to replace them)

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smooth

holy shit, that's extreme. doesn't sound overly cautious, though. You'd think someone would have a torch if they were that determined.

If they are charging for tickets, I hope the proceeds go towards security and not someone's coffers. I could understand if money was used to defray the cost of the visit or the city will have to cough it up through taxes or budget cuts anyway. Short answer: you're going to pay anyway.

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OFKU0

Well if he can shut down Bagdad, I 'm sure he has clearance to shut down whatever he wants in the U.S. One of the perks of being the President I guess.

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onetime2

I love how now he's supposedly shutting down a whole town, it's unfair to his opponent, and he's abusing his power. Jeesh.

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JohnnyRoyale

Just imagine the fun when he goes to New York City....you know, for the convention?

WHEE! You need me, I'll be somewhere else.

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reconmike

How? Its called to prevent assination.

I live in a town in New Jersey that has 100,000 people, Slick Willie visited a county college here.
He also had around a 2 mile radius closed. I just happened to live across the street, and be home for lunch.
I was stuck home, big deal these are precautions that are needed in todays world.

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Kadath

You left out an ass.

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Sparhawk

too easy...

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smooth

Would you have been charged money if you wanted to come out of your house?

If so, then that scenario would be analogous to this one.

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LowRider

I think this is making a bit much out of a relatively small issue. I don't begrudge the president his security measures at all. You think it is an inconvienence to Lebenon, OH? You should see what Air Force One does to the air traffic control system. When AF 1 moving on the field, everything else stops. It does not matter what your schedule was, you wait. Furthermore, the exact arrival and departure times are classified, so the airlines have absolutely no way to plan around it. Not only are all departures stopped, but all arrivals as well. All of the roads, from perimenter to interstate, are shut down during these times, too.
Is it frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive? Yes. But it is a relatively cheap investment compared to the cost of a presidential asassination.