MILWAUKEE—I am writing this approximately 20 yards from the spot where, on October 14, 1912, an out-of-work saloonkeeper named John Schrank plugged former president Theodore Roosevelt with one shot from a .38 caliber Police Special. The bullet shattered TR’s eyeglass case, was slowed by the folded 50-odd pages of the speech he was about to deliver, and lodged in his chest muscle, where it stayed for the rest of his life. Roosevelt delivered the speech anyway but not before he probably saved Schrank from being killed by the crowd by insisting that his assailant be handed over to the police. Once Schrank was safely away, Roosevelt told the crowd,
“I do not care a rap about being shot. I cannot tell you of what infinitesimal importance I regard this incident as compared with the great issues at stake in this campaign.”
History is so cool.
Since the events in Pennsylvania on Saturday, I followed a strict adherence to the 24-hour rule. I came to only one firm, instant conclusion.
Too many nuts.
Too many guns.
And that is my conclusion.
Beyond that, the whole event is starting to sound like the average school shooting. The alleged gunman was a confused and bullied 20-year-old (like Dylan Klebold) who decided to take his frustration and anger out on the world. So he borrowed a legal firearm from one of his parents, like Adam Lanza did, and he went hunting for an outlet. And he found one. And he killed someone with an AR-15, like too many school shooters to mention.
That said, this may be the worst failure of protection surrounding a politician since the murder of Indira Gandhi. (I do not envy this gentleman at all.) How on earth does the Secret Service, having secured the “principal” flat on the stage, let him stand up and pose for the mother of all photo ops? What if there were another shooter, which would not be unheard of? And then there’s this.
A colleague of mine makes it a point to apply for tickets to all the former president*’s rallies. When my colleague got the email about the Pennsylvania rally, my colleague was gobsmacked. Along with the usual security instructions, there were aerial photos of the venue, with helpful legends that showed where everything was.
This has to be a violation of some security protocol or another. First of all, the photos are altogether worthless if you’re actually trying to get to the event, unless you’re coming by helicopter. Second, and most important, is there anything in those photos that a wannabe sniper wouldn’t find helpful? There’s everything there except another entry on the legend—5: Excellent line of fire—with a little arrow. And that, friends, is on the campaign. A lot of somebodies should be looking for new careers today, because this is the kind of thing that’s dangerous, because this is the United States of America in 2024.
Too many nuts.
Too many guns.
And that is my conclusion.
