Even The Motorcades Changed

In 2005, President Bush's post-election calvacade resembled the march of tanks past a reviewing stand. It was if, I remember George Will saying, that Bosnian Serbs were shelling the capital every few moments. Ominous, ugly and scary.



The background was cluttered by massive black vehicles, including the scariest-looking car in the motorcade -- a big, blackened ambulance, which happens to be tasked with hazardous materials mitigation.  The motorcades for Bush and Cheney were identical.

This year, the staging was much different.

Even though the security itself was amped up, its footprint was much lighter. 

The motorcade vehicles, including the follow-up suburban, the counter-assault team, the jammer van, and staff vans, lined up on both sides of the road, leaving an unobstructed pathway in the middle.  And the black haz-mat ambulances were nowhere to be found (They were parked near the Reagan building.)  The result was a much less imposing security cordon, and it made for a much better, more open picture of the Obamas.