At the Capitol Building

January 12, 2009 - Maulana

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David O’Connor, a 22 year veteran of the Secret Service and a Boston native, spoke to us about the history of the secret service, his work in the Secret Service Agency, securing past presidents and preparations for this year’s inauguration. Ironically, the United States Secret Service was created by Abraham Lincoln; it was the last act he signed before his assassination.

The service's original purpose was to stop the counterfeiting of money. Over time and following two more assassinations, the agencies purpose shifted and widened to include protecting sitting presidents and presidential nominees. Some of the more interesting details of Agent O'Connor's career included his extensive travel with the Clintons, as he put it, "I've been place I can't even pronounce..." Agent O'Connor also made it clear that the secret service has to adapt to what the president wishes to do and not vice versa. He has escorted Queens Elizabeth on her last visit the United States and Pope Benedict on his first papal visit to the U.S. (an event he described as his most memorable moment). In preparation for any inauguration the secret service starts to prepare for an inauguration the day after the last one. So on January 21st of this year they will begin to plan for the inauguration of the next president. The process includes virtually every city and state agency that has a steak in the inauguration: the Department of Transportation, the National Parks Department, even the Marine Corps!

The next speaker of today was the person who "...decides whether or not the President will live or die in the memory of the Republic"; Marc Pachter, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History. Pachter manages the presidential gallery, so his self-description is very fitting. He spoke of the connection between a president's legacy and his (hopefully one day, her) portrait. A president's portrait is supposed to visually embody the president's personality and the portrait has come to convey a message about the kind of leader that particular president was during his tenure in office. He showed us some of the most loved (George Washington) most controversial /loathed presidential portraits (Bill Clinton), while some are done with little to no fan fare (Ronald Reagan). He said the one of the factors that decides whether or not a president's portrait will be well received is whether or not the portrait is an accurate reflection of the president's personality.

The final guest speakers of the day battled out their opinions in short liberal/conservative cycles, Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel. I like to consider myself a liberal but I have to say the Cal Thomas' supposedly conservative rhetoric, just sounded like plain common sense to me, "live within your means, don't charge more than you can repay..." until you take into account his privileged position that would permit him to take his own advice very easily. Bob Beckel liberal views were punctuated with some ribald humor aimed at conservative media figures/outlets and focused on the importance of truly working collaboratively to solve some of the dire problems facing the nation.

Steve Bell wrapped up the lectures with more clips from the 2008 campaign trail; Bell's focus was on the Democratic primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Today's featured clip was a Saturday Night Live skit in which two reporters are fawning over Barack Obama and repeatedly extolling his numerous virtues and wreaking havoc on Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton.

Our site visit to the Capital building was full of the usual details and facts; unfortunately the only salacious detail was the brawl that broke out in the floor of the House, causing Congress to issue a gag order on the events of that day and to pass a law banning dueling on the floor. The statuary was filled with beautiful statues honoring various presidents and dignitaries from the different states. One of the things people neglect to tell you about Washington D.C. is the beauty of the architecture and the vast amount and range of art all over the city. We saw the president of Mexico as he was visiting and we even stood on one of the only two spots in the world where you can be in four places at once!

Maulana

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