My Twitter friend Anjuan Simmons posted an interesting blog entry wondering if more Secret Service protection would be needed should Barack Obama become the first black president. The answer seems like a resounding ‘yes’ to me, which is basically what Simmons concluded. Seems to me the level of security should match the perceived threat, and simply as a candidate there’s already plenty of threats against Obama. Therefore increased security is warranted.

But if you read the comments on Simmons’ YouTube video when he proposed the question for a debate, you’ll see a lot of opinions all over the map (yikes—why is it that YouTube commenters seem to be crazier than any other commenters?). Some of these opinions are clearly off the deep end, but I’m a little confused by the people who seem to think Obama should get the same security as any other president, as if it’s a matter of fairness. As if you determine the size/capabilities of your fighting force based on the last battle, instead of the size/capabilities of your current enemy.

Aside from the psychos, it’s an interesting ‘what if’ question. What would it do to America if the first black president were assassinated?