Glad to have confirmation that Obama's people are aware of his (in)security. My mother- an evangelical Christian of the non-psychotic kind- was just worrying about him yesterday. She said that growing up, witnessing the assasinations of Dr. King, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, and Malcolm X. (ok she didn't mention him, but she could have), gave her a hightened awareness of the dangers for such a progressive politician, and that she is afraid for the young Senator's life. Right or not, maddening or not- he needs to put a call into the Pope and see if he can't get ahold of an out-of-use Pope-mobile.

The upside to all this? He'll score points with the 50 Cent crowd- a real soldier for the cause.

I like Obama a lot. I'll probably vote for him in the primary, if he runs. But I'm scared to death for him, I really am. It's the invisible 900-pound gorilla in the room, the idea that the same thing could happen to him that happened to Bobby Kennedy, to Martin Luther King, Jr.

So it's with deeply mixed feelings that I watch the ascendancy of my state's junior senator. On the one hand, I really, really think he has a lot of promise, that he will appeal to people who would never before have given a black Democrat the time of day, and I would love to see a President Obama. On the other, I'm terrified for his safety. On the third hand, I think, dammit, if he eschews those kinds of fears, he'll be showing the kind of courage and leadership and dedication and sacrifice we need...and on the fourth hand...he has a wife and children who need him as much, if not more, than the country does. I don't know what to think.

Polonium is out of the closet. Semi-seriously, worry about Republicum.

If obama becomes the official nominee, then he'll have secret service protection. until then, i definitely worry that the same fate that befell RFK could be his as well.

I have been thinking about this issue for a while, and I am honestly surprised that some nut job hasn't tried to take out Obama yet. To be honest, I am not sure if our country can handle a high profile assassination right now. Our morale is already pretty low, with the combination of 9/11, the Iraq War, and Hurricane Katrina in the past few years.

No sane Black person wouldn't be worried about safety. I'm sorry, but this is still America. Of course he should be concerned. It's a very real problem.

I found your article very interesting and would agree that as a Black person, worry is well-founded. I wonder about the amount of worrying Hillary Clinton does as a woman? Surely there is a similar demographic 'out there' who would be almost as upset by a woman president. And then I think about the assassinations in the past and two notable deaths were among LIBERAL WHITE MEN!! (The Kennedy brothers), so while I agree that race and gender play roles, I think that politics is a far bigger concern. I even wonder about Paul Wellstone...I know, I know, it was ice! SURE!

Well, that wasn't exactly my experience with Obama as a freshman Senator. He has a lot of aides around him for a junior Senator, and has since he took office. Most Senators walk around the Capitol unescorted. Obama often had an aide with a tape recorder following him around and sticking the recorder in the face of reporters asking him questions.

the radical right wing religious evagelical fundamentalist jihadists are out there(Tenessee and Harold Ford)and these zealots for God will stop at nothing to harm this good man. I will vote for him even though my church the Catholic Church demands that we vote for only Republicans.I became an Independant voter during the Vietnam War when I found out that Johnson and Westmoreland were lying to the american people about the war then along came Nixon and Westmoreland who were far worse. So I became an Independant but always vote Dem(shhh don't tell them because I want them to earn my vote not take it for granted)except at the local level where I vote for good people no matter what their party. But not in the recent election when I voted straight Dem and will do so from now on despite what the Pope says.

So the short of it is that I don't for one second believe Obama is safe and he should spare no effort to maintain his safety. Just look at the Dems who have been killed, JFK,RFK and MLK jr. I believe his life is on the line as is Hillary Clinton's because she is a woman and because she is a Dem. The mean vicious radical right wing religious are out there, waiting. And the Repubs, the party of god(small g), will put them to use.

Obama seems to be a great candidate. He's widely popular. So were Bobby Kennedy and Jack Kennedy. They were assassinated. Martin Luther King was terminated. Liberals who have been widely popular did not have a bright future. Why do war Republicans survive in office? Richard Nixon survived; George Bush, probably the most incompetent president in history, will finish his term. Lyndon Johnson, in contrast, who was widely unpopular, made it to the end of his term. Being widely popular can be life threatening.

She'd get to grandstand at his funeral, crying those big old crocodile tears.

An early test of Senator Obama's long-term candidate viability will be his groupies' reaction to the very up close and personal security detail that will undoubtedly surround him at most of his public appearances if he invests in the personal security measures he is now talking loudly about. He is still in the game if they react to the inability to approach him randomly after or during a campaign speech or appearance w/ a shrug and comment 'Oh well, he has to protect himself from all those crazies out there'. He can concentrate on reelection to the Senate in 2010 if they pout and stamp their feet about what a big headed conceited jerk he has turned into all of a sudden. The type of reaction should be fascinating to see for the next two years.