Hold Jeh Johnson accountable for Secret Service failures

Some clown was able to jump the White House fence, run across 100 yards of lawn and enter the front door of the building. You read that correctly, he actually made it into the White House itself.

Fortunately, the president and family were not in the residence, but what the heck is going on over there?

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson urged that no one jump to conclusions about this failure of the highest order, but there is no jump to make. The Secret Service has clearly been told to hold fire on any invader.

How else does anyone explain that the most heavily armed residence in our nation was invaded by a Karate Kid wannabe?

{mosads}The story gets even more scary as it was later reported that while the perpetrator was not carrying anything more harmful than a pen knife, his car contained munitions that were not so benign.

Apparently no one informed the Secret Service, who serve under the aforementioned Johnson, that we have terrorists roaming the Middle East in a murderous spree who have threatened to do the same here in America?

How else can you describe the slow and incompetent reaction of those entrusted with protecting the president, and presumably those who work in the White House, from assassination?

After all, the idea of a bomb-wearing jihadist blowing up innocents is not exactly out of science fiction novels. Could it be that Clueless Jeh Johnson shares the same propensity for not reading his briefing books as his boss?

This should not take a long, drawn out procedural review. President Obama needs to fire Johnson and whoever created the presumption that someone jumping the fence and running full speed toward the White House should be met with anything but deadly force.

The truth is that people with evil intent learn from these types of incidents.

It is not a stretch of the imagination to think that the lack of response to the 1994 attempt to crash a stolen Cessna into the White House, which failed due to pilot error, might have given someone the idea that led to 9/11.

Just as the world learned in 1994 that a stolen plane could fly through extended restricted air space and reach the White House without a single shot being fired at it, what lessons might those who intend our nation harm have learned from the Obama family’s home invasion?

It frightens me to think about it, and that’s why Jeh Johnson must go. The president must send the strongest signal possible that this type of breach of security will never be allowed again. Otherwise, the results very well could be a national tragedy.

Manning (@rmanning957) is vice president of public policy and communications for Americans for Limited Government. Contact him at rmanning@getliberty.org.