JDK wrote:
Thanks cco23i, for an relevant comment in the thread. Cheers.
Interesting, CAPFlyer. Off the cuff, I think the US President would be the head of state of a first world country with most assassination attempts (certainly in the 20th Century) where the attempt was either successful, or a shot was fired with a real chance of killing him. So the effort in protection is clearly needed.
The last (and only) British PM assassinated was Spencer Percival in 1812. Australia's best effort was to lose a PM while swimming at sea, and then name a swimming pool after him (Harold Holt). Heads of state of the UK, and Aus have been untouched for some time.
However there is always a degree of pomp too, for the US President (as, in a sense there should be - it just amuses me that people try to pretend it doesn't exist; yet how far and when the sleeves get rolled shows how codified it is) and it matches up remarkably to the that of a royal head of state, as does that of the French President, say. Notably the status of genuine actual Royal representatives (or substitutes) the Governor Generals of Canada, Australia et al. is much more low key, though still very much there.
Off Topic Regards,
I remember when I was in Panama and the elder Bush visited, C-5's were used, and they were carrying helos too.