Karl Rove jumped off the right-wing cliff again today by having his political attack group go after President Obama for the new bus the Secret Service bought to protect him on this week's tour of three midwest states.
Sure, the new Ground Force One cost $1.1 million, but I'd bet that's not much more than the price of Sarah Palin's logo-plastered cost -- not to mention Brooks & Dunn, Beyonce, and Aerosmith's custom wheels, all made by the same Tennessee company that did Obama's. The Secret Service defends the expense by explaining that the buses they'd been leasing for previous presidential road trips were not as safe as they needed to be. And when you have a president who receives more death threats than any of the 43 who preceded him, you want to be sure he's in a secure ride.
Can you imagine what Rove's reaction would have been if a left-wing group had said the same things about choices the Secret Service made to protect Dubya when he was President? He would surely have pointed out that the President has nothing to do with decisions made by his protective detail, and he would defend the expense at any cost. In fact, when Bush's bus was retrofitted for the 2004 campaign, Rove didn't raise an eyebrow because it was for his boy. And watch out next year, when Rove will show off his hypocrisy again by keeping silent when the eventual GOP nominee is driven around the country in a bus identical to Obama's.
My only complaint about Obama's bus is that it tends to stand out a little wherever it goes since it's painted solid black (considering his background, shouldn't it be half black, half white?). If the Secret Service wants to make it a little less conspicuous, they should make it look like the tour bus of someone who won't grab much attention.
Put Taylor Hicks' face on there and no one will look twice.Labels: politics