George H.W. Bush security detail: Bald . . . and really big

By Dan Calabrese —— Bio and Archives July 25, 2013

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OK, first, I love what they did . . . even H.W. himself shaving his head to show solidarity with the two-year-old, leukemia-stricken son of one of the agents. Looks like a wonderful group of people.

Second, I do not begrudge former presidents their security details or their pensions. Not even Jimmy Carter. For serving as president, I think they deserve it. I'll say the same thing about Obama when he's out of office. (I just wish that was now.) Having said all that, does it surprise you that Bush 41's security detail is this big? I'll be the first to admit I'm not a security expert so I don't really know how many people it takes to provide him with the protection he needs, and I have no idea what the nature of threats might be against a former president well into his 80s who's been out of office for 20 years. Maybe there are more of them than I tend to think. But to the extent that I've ever thought about it, I would have probably guessed that a former president gets a Secret Service detail of maybe three or four agents. I would never have thought it would be this many. If this is what he needs, fine with me, but I'm surprised. Security experts, what am I not understanding?