The Pretorian Guard

First Draft, for one, already posted something about this, but I'll repeat the exercise.

The Secret Service is in the business of protecting the President's person. Or at least that is supposed to be its business. It should NOT be in the business of protecting the President's ego at the cost of quashing dissent.

That is exactly what it is doing.

This nation is supposed to have a First Amendment, not a Devine King.

Secret Service agents are famous for their willingness to take a bullet for the president. Less famous is their willingness to take out a heckler for the president.

Officially, the Secret Service does not concern itself with unarmed, peaceful demonstrators who pose no danger to the commander in chief. But that policy was inoperative Thursday when seven AIDS activists who heckled President Bush were shoved and pulled from the room — some by their hair, one by her bra straps — and then arrested for disorderly conduct and detained for an hour.

After Bush campaign bouncers handled the evictions, Secret Service agents, accompanied by Bush's personal aide, supervised the arrests and detention of the activists, and blocked the media from access to the hecklers.

I do not care who the President is, the Secret Service is not the tool for quashing political dissent, who the hell is requiring they do so?