Bush Gets Eight Page Letter From God, or What the Hell's Up With The Secret Service

Lissa · February 7, 2003, 11:52pm

This story made me do a bit of a double-take.

The Post’s David Montgomery reports that the 57-year-old Weaver, a nondenominational Christian minister from Sacramento, crashed the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton, breezing through the ballroom entrance without a ticket and handed President Bush what he later described as an eight-page typed “message from God” about Iraq.

<snip>

Yesterday [Weaver] found himself in a crowd that included 56 senators, 240 House members, first lady Laura Bush, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and CIA director George Tenet. He freely mingled with his fellow breakfast-goers, whipping out a disposable camera to have his picture taken with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and several other politicians and religious leaders. He found a seat at Frist’s table, mere feet from the head table where Bush sat. “Someone stayed home,” Weaver shrugged. "I just pinched myself and said, ‘God, you did it again.’ "

<snip>

Weaver told Montgomery that at one point he unhooked a rope in front of the head table, approached the president and handed him the letter, which warned: “If America does not repent, there will be 50,000 casualties and a six-month war” with Iraq. Bush had a look of attentiveness and “peace,” Weaver added.

<snip>

Secret Service spokesman John Gill declined to comment on Weaver. But he said the president was never in any danger and security had not been breached, because everyone had passed through a metal detector, among other security measures.

Was someone asleep at the switch? It is known that this man has performed similar stunts before, and it strikes me a bit strange that with all of the terrorist threats, and international turmoil that Weaver could get in. Yeah, he’s never been a danger before, but who knows when someone who takes dictation from the Almighty might go over the edge. Seems to me the Commander in Cheif might want to take a look at his security procedures.

Then again, perhaps God really wanted to make sure the letter got to the president, and was afraid it might get lost in the mail.

Jberto · February 8, 2003, 8:23am

Considering how justified Bush feels in his crusade against Iraq and North Korea, it’s about time God tried snapping him out of it.

See this article in The Progressive regarding Bush’s Messiah Complex and how it relates to his stance on war. It is eerie, essential reading in times like these.

3trew · February 8, 2003, 8:35am

“I think a good gift for the President would be a chocolate gun, but he’s pretty busy so you’d probably have to run up to him real fast to hand it to him”.

Maybe the Secret Service has spent a little bit too much time reading Jack Handey’s “Deep Thoughts” and not enough time working on that whole “protect the President” thing.

If they keep all the potentially dangerous religious nuts away from Bush, who’s going to fill all those Cabinet and advisor positions?

Boyo_Jim · February 8, 2003, 12:03pm

If the SS believes Bush wasn’t in danger from this, their director should be fired.

It was a breakfast? Surely there was silverware. How 'bout a butter knife in the eye, Dubya?

Lissa · February 8, 2003, 5:45pm

Exactly what I thought. There were plenty of pointy objects lying about. Hell, he could have punched the President in such a way as to drive bone splinters upward into his brain. He could have whacked him over the head with a vase, or one of the stands that holds the velvet ropes. Hell, there’s hundreds of ways to kill a man, or at least cause him serious damage lying on the average breakfast table.

Not to mention that the President wasn’t the only VIP present. Had this Messenger of The Big Guy in the Sky been of a murderous mindset, he probably could have done a bit of harm.

Going through a metal detector does not eliminate all risk, as any airport security personel will tell you. I mean, dear God, what if he had had a pair of NAIL CLIPPERS! Jesus, the carnage!

samclem · February 9, 2003, 4:28am

Now that you’ve discovered how impossible it is to totally prevent mayhem on a President, please offer constructive ideas on how to screen eveyone coming into an event so that there is no danger.

…

Lissa · February 9, 2003, 4:31am

Well, hell, at least check for tickets! That’s a start, anyway.

Inky_1 · February 9, 2003, 4:38am

Did anybody else read about this and think that maybe God was on this kooks side?

Splanky · February 9, 2003, 5:36am

W should stop hiring liberals as his Secret Service Agents

Boyo_Jim · February 9, 2003, 2:50pm

What Lissa said. AND

How about a guard who intercepts unidentified people who “unhook the rope” around the President’s table and walk toward him?
Or maybe pictures of people who’ve gotten through presidential security BEFORE (as Weaver has), so they can be sure not to let it happen again.

I really despise GWB, and if he dropped dead I would shed no tears, but such security is appalling!

TVGuy · February 9, 2003, 4:01pm

Well, you know that some Republican members of congress would probably tell you that this was the fault of all of those Clinton Secret Service Agents.

I’ll tell you from experience that it’s simply impossible to totally protect someone - unless you lock them into a vault and never let them out.

That said, however, this is definitely one of those times when you just have to scratch your head.

Now where’s that “head-scratch” smiley, again?

Ukulele_Ike · February 9, 2003, 4:03pm

Well, in the name of NATIONAL SECURITY, I propose we take Bush and all of his cabinet and advisors, and do just that.

TVGuy · February 9, 2003, 4:19pm

Good call, Ike!

Podkayne · February 9, 2003, 5:11pm

I see from Lissa’s link that Rev. Weaver is white.

I have a teeny tiny sneaking suspcion that the story would be quite different he was a distinguished-looking gentleman on a different part of the melanin-endowment spectrum.