The difference, of course, is that European transportation is subsidized heavily.

It that a good use for tax dollars? I suspect it is, especially if you get personal benefit from it.

And if you don't benefit, you get to pay for someone else's cheap, convenient commute. Not as much of a good deal in that case.

The US Secret Service prefers to shut down streets an hour or so ahead of a motorcade's passing; the UK uses those outriders as rolling roadblocks, leapfrogging from intersection to intersection to close them off.

I do recall the Secret Service's being annoyed that they could not close the M4 between Heathrow and the city for Clinton's first motorcade. They were also miffed that the Brits wouldn't close Heathrow for the arrival/departure of Air Force One.

Actually, they weren't happy with security at #10 Downing St., either, until its subtleties were pointed out to them.

They should be able to effectively protect the president when he is at home or in an temporary home or in an office without shutting down a city.

DC public transportation doesn't exactly suck, but it's far from truly usable by the majority of the people who live and work there. It doesn't begin to compare, though, to the 'pedestrianized' cities of Europe where public transportation is, generally speaking, a major asset.

For $60/mo in many European cities, you can buy a ticket good on buses, undergrounds, and trains. That amount in the US doesn't get you a month on the underground or even two weeks in commercial parking lots. The difference, of course, is that European transportation is subsidized heavily.

It that a good use for tax dollars? I suspect it is, especially if you get personal benefit from it.

I don't recall any complaints about Cheney's daily trips at lunch time from his undisclosed location(s) back to the Naval Observatory lo these many years.

A motorcade isn't the same as a weeks-long closure of major arteries.

Cities in the US and Europe with considerably higher population densities than DC have embraced pedestrianization. (See, e.g., Trafalgar Square, London.)

It's not about residents so much as commuters. Unless one lives in non-Georgetown DC or the very near suburbs, driving is the only option for getting back and forth from work. When I'm in tourist mode, I gladly walk for miles and miles.

It's rather inefficient, however, to walk 15 miles each way to work in a business suit. And between two income families and frequent job changes, "live closer to the office" isn't a realistic option for most of us.

2. Cities in the US and Europe with considerably higher population densities than DC have embraced pedestrianization. (See, e.g., Trafalgar Square, London.) Consider the closure of Penn Ave in front of the White House as a beautification process.

Last night on NPR there was talk about the new essay contest to get tickets, comparing it to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with a Golden Ticket. This is getting silly.

But security can certainly be a pain in the neck for residents. My wife has a house in Georgetown that was three doors down from then-VP candidate John Edwards, and a block from John Kerry's house. Secret Service did not make the situation any more pleasant, taking up large numbers of parking places and shutting down the streets abruptly, albeit briefly.

The situation was similar with the security around Madeleine Albright's place when she was SecState. Neighbors gripe, too, at the fact that some houses have visits from the VP or high-level foreign officials, which lead to street closures and jammed traffic.

The latest buzz is that Oprah is looking for a place in Georgetown, maybe the Evermay mansion, maybe the Edwards' former house. Not a government official, of course, she will still have security issues that will make life more complicated for those living nearby.

Part of the price of living in DC, I guess.

Instead, presidents are being treated like god-kings or fabulous Oriental potentates.

A lot of this is the increased security that happened after the Kennedy assassination, the mass demonstrations of the 1960's, the multiple assassination attempts of the 1970's and 1980's, and the domestic and foreign terrorist attacks of the last 20 years. Some of it is probably the increased professionalism of the president's protectors.

But some of it is just because the country is so much bigger and the government is so much bigger, richer, and more powerful.

Remember, too, James, that Washington wasn't supposed to be a city. It was supposed to be a sort of large campus—just the seat of government. This is an issue related to the DC statehood one: if Washington, DC is a city it should be treated like one (which includes representation either in its own right or by devolution); if it just the seat of government it shouldn't have so many people living there, commuting, etc.