bendog
Diamond Member
I remember the dems (not dem polls) decrying how much was spent on Reagan's ranch.
LIFE ON THE RANCH
Over the more than 40 visits Reagan made to the ranch during his presidency, a certain routine developed. Each morning, a Secret Service agent would pick up the daily dispatch of presidential papers from the office in Santa Barbara. According to Barletta, Reagan would work through them right away. "People would say, 'Oh, he's out of town' or 'on vacation,' but that means nothing. The presidency and all the work that goes with it goes wherever the President goes."
And so did the enormous security detail. Reagan was virtually never alone, and for the morning ride, which could take anywhere from two to four hours, the parade of security must have been a sight to see. Barletta always rode next to the President (whose Secret Service code name was "Rawhide"); behind them, Mrs. Reagan (code name "Rainbow") and another agent. Following them was a custom-made Hummer (code name "Halfback"), built exclusively to handle the rough terrain of the ranch. Inside were four to six agents carrying heavy weapons, regular and satellite phones, emergency medical equipment and, of course, the "football," the code name for a briefcase containing nuclear missile launch codes.
Every effort was made to preserve a sense of serenity for the President while also employing the vast array of high-tech security and communication devices that are now a standard part of the office. Trees were planted around the command posts where agents, snipers, Seabees, and other military personnel lived and worked. Taking a trip from Disneyland, fake boulders were ordered from the Disney company to hide sophisticated motion detectors, electrical wires, and sensors. Trail numbers were carved into rocks located along the riding paths to track the president's position moment-by-moment on a photographic map shot from space by the Air Force.
It's like .... no one else in the world gets the scrutiny of the potus.
