When Barry Hussein comes to town, it’s more like the arrival of a potentate or deeply unpopular dictator than the duly elected president of the United States:
A team of black-clad marksmen march across the airport tarmac, while a sea of police outriders rumble through downtown Los Angeles. Is America mobilising for a major emergency? No, Barack Obama’s due on a chat show. The President mustered a massive security operation for a few minutes’ joking around with host Jimmy Kimmel.
The US president could have opted for the simpler – and cheaper – option of a live satellite link-up from the White House to appear on the late-night show. Instead he chose to fly to LA in Air Force One to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live – even enlisting aerial support from a futuristic-looking military aircraft on the way.
Once in the studio, Mr Obama didn’t even have much to say beyond reading out cruel Twitter jibes and making jokes about how much time he spends on the golf course. However, his appearance on Thursday’s episode of the show was criticised by those who were faced with traffic disruption in the notoriously congested Californian city.
Although the President made part of his journey by helicopter in response to previous gripes, locals still vented their fury on Twitter. However, using a chopper did at least allow Angelinos a glimpse of the latest – and most expensive – toys in the presidential entourage. Three £45million Osprey MV-22s shadowed the President as he boarded his helicopter, Marine One, at LAX for the quick hop to Burbank Airport. The fully-armed ‘tilt-rotor’ aircraft, stationed at a nearby US Marines base, is a cross between a plane and a helicopter and capable of vertical take-off.
On arrival, a vast motorcade of 40 vehicles then accompanied Mr Obama to the studio in Hollywood. Meanwhile, wife Michelle recorded an appearance for a different TV show.
By flying in separately, one should note, on the same day.
Yes, the president’s security should be ensured. But each administration, it seems, ups the ante on the protective details until it now seems like the advance force of an occupying army. Planes, helicopters, phalanxes of armored-plated vehicles… to what end? What message does it send? Is this any way to run a representative Republic? Or are we in fact governed by His Serene Majesty the Emperor Barack Hussein Obama II, Lord of the Flies, Keeper of the Hoops, Master of the Greens, Bringer of Kinetic Military Action, Vacationer-in-Chief, Slayer of Osama, Killer of Qaddafi, Atomizer of the Economy, and Protector of the Holy Cities of Honolulu and Chicago?
Disgraceful.
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