Election 2008: the Escalating Costs of the Dog and Pony Shows

Buried within all the chit-chat on one of the major news networks this weekend over the Obama and McCain campaign rhetoric and analysis ad nauseum, crawling slowly across my screen I was astounded to learn that the U.S. Secret Service has asked for an almost 10 million dollar increase in it's budget for the 2008 election. This is over and above the already 107 million that was budgeted to provide Secret Service protection for Obama and McCain. The last election U.S. Secret Service costs were approximately 74 million. This election year it will topple 117 million, an astronomical increase, to say the least.

The point was made in the crawl that the increase is due to the fact, apparently, that Mr. Obama has had and requested Secret Service protection since April of 2007, and Senator McCain since only May of 2008. This crawl was carried on Faux, of course, and seemed to be geared toward exposing Mr. Obama"s' excessive security costs and elitism as out of proportion. I have learned not to take anything anymore at face value on the main stream media, due to the fact that cable news espouses the political positions of it's owners or advertisers more often than not, depending which will garner more revenue or ratings.

What is actually the most telling is that there is Secret Service protection for the candidates at all, or at least the degree. 117 million even for this ludicrous two year run for the presidency is quite a few agents, even at over $100,000 per year plus benefits. That sum would be equal to over 1,000 agents at a salary five times the poverty level.

We now have a government which continues to engage in a costly war contrary to the will and desire of the people, throws money at itself in the massive housing bill passed this week, and spends 117 million for security for two men, enough money to pay off a great many of those foreclosed upon loans or feed 1/3 of the several states or their gasoline costs.

Is this insanity, or what?