Death threats for Obama

Four times as many as death threats for Bush? More? For his most passionate supporters, it is only natural to think of this young, charismatic and inspirational leader as another potential JFK, RFK or MLK Jr. (Although I doubt we’ll ever call him BHO.)

Yet it was Kevin Drum of all people who noted that according to Secret Service chief Mark Sullivan that the number of threats against the president is “at the same level” as it was during the previous two administrations. The day after Kevin’s post, the NY Times published a long story about threats against the president, which according to unnamed sources, includes a “big increase in threats against Mr. Obama took place in the first four months of his presidency,” but have leveled off since.

Some pundits are still playing catch-up, though. On Sunday morning, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, asserted that “I think we have to be worried about egregious security lapses. This president, I believe, has received a record number of death threats.”

Let’s hope the threats stay down or go even lower.