24 Hours To Save Barack Obama

HAS Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff been watching too much 24?

With more than 6,500 hours to go before the Democratic presidential primaries, Barack Obama, America’s potential first black president, has been placed under Secret Service guard. It is the earliest in a campaign that a presidential candidate has been placed under such protection.

The New York Post says “reported threats” have been made against the senator, but the New York Times quotes a Secret Service spokesman as saying no specific threats have been made. The mind games have already begun.

In searching for answers, the New York Times turned to a Homeland Security spokesman who would only say that several criteria were taken into account in making the decision, including “the candidate having certain financial standings, pre-eminence in public opinion polls and actively campaigning.”

But maybe the Times and the Post are missing something. Why is no one asking about 24?

A recent feature in The New Yorker revealed that Chertoff is a big fan of the show. He took part in a symposium last year called “ ‘24’ and America’s Image in Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction, or Does It Matter?” where he praised the show’s depiction of the war on terrorism as “trying to make the best choice with a series of bad options” and he told the audience, “Frankly, it reflects real life.”

Well almost. The black presidential candidate and the Secret Service are in place. All Chertoff needs now is a ticking time bomb and a Jack Bauer to beat, suffocate, drug, stab and otherwise torture America to safety.

Anorak

Posted: 4th, May 2007 | In: Anorak In New York Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink