It is already being marked on the calendar of practically every American. January 20th, 2008. Inauguration Day. The day where an African American becomes the next President of the United States or the day where George W. Bush is no longer president. I guess you can look at it either way, depending on how much you love Obama or how much you hate Bush.
However, the most important person in America on January 20th, 2008 will not be Obama, instead it will be........Cathy Lanier.
Wait? Huh? You are definitely wondering who the hell Cathy Lanier is.
Cathy Lanier is the Police Chief in the District of Columbia. She will be responsible for making sure President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States without anything happening to him.
Let's face it. We may have elected an African American to become the next president, but there is still racism in our country. There are still people out there who absolutely hate Blacks and are livid over the fact that one will be their next president. This racism, as well as the fact that terrorists are still a powerful force, are the two main reasons why there is going to be the most security ever to patrol an event on Inauguration Day.
It will be the responsibility of Lanier to make sure her city is patrolled by as many officers as possible. Yes, the secret service and other people in Obama's administration will play a large role in making sure Obama is sworn in without any trouble, but Lanier is in charge of the city. Therefore, it is her responsibility to make sure nothing goes wrong.
The precautions that are being taken for Inauguration Day are amazing. According to CNN, "Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to countersnipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols."
The fact that a sniper will be able to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away is pretty cool. Actually, it's amazing. This alone will make me think twice if I were one of those idiots planning on doing something to harm the 44th President.
Lanier is in charge of all 5,265 surveillance cameras in Washington D.C., and all of those cameras will be fed into a multi-agency command center.
In conclusion, the man of the day on January 20th will be Barack Obama, but the WO-man of the day will be Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
5 comments:
I'm curious to know between President Obama or Police Chief Cathy Lanier who will have a higher stress level on Tuesday, January 20th. On the one hand we have President (Elect) Obama, who has got to be nervous and stressed by the fact that people feel animosity towards him. Although he may not show it during the inauguration because we all know that Obama does manages to always remain his cool even during stressful situations (this being one of his many talents). I remember someone once mentioning that during the final presidential debate, Obama was so cool that an ice would have not melted if placed on his head. As for Chief Cathy Lanier, sounds like she has a lot on her plate, I can only imagine how it would feel to be in her shoes, her job seems to be quite stressful, simply the stresses that come along with the fact that she is being held accountable for everything to run smoothly as planned. I thing that serving as the overseer and managing every bit of security all at once, if done successfully, she should win a prize or at least get a little more recognition.
Ha! Love the pic from Vantage Point!
Anybody else freaking out about the amount of cameras in D.C.?
haha, glorious movie picture. Though it's a bit out of place (i'm just returning comment from my page)...
I do understand how you would be stoked to have another Clinton in office -- and lucky for you, you do! His name is Barack Hussein Obama. I cannot honestly believe that he chose so many Clinton cabinet members when he wants CHANGE. This decision digresses the country, it does not prepare us for progress.
Lucky for you, Hilary is now Sec. of State...lucky for me, it means she's not on the Supreme Court...and therefore I can count down the days until she's gone haha
Brandon - this is an awesome post. Despite the fact that the American electorate has spoken and has decided that we are ready for a black President, many are not. I would be scared shitless if I was Obama or a member of his Secret Service detail. With literally millions of people packing Washington for the inauguration, Madam Lanier has a HUGE responsibility. The entire world will be watching us.
I've been curious about the same thing for a while. Especially after the night he won the election, when he spoke in front of that massive crowd in Chicago with the bullet proof glass in front of him, it really made it a reality how difficult and pressing a task it is to keep a strong security detail on Obama. I can't even imagine how difficult it will be to keep the ceremonies safe but I hope she is up to the task.
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