When it comes to convention security, Boston is a case of wretched excess. They've closed Route 93, the major north-south commuter road into (and out of) town, between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m. And, to add insult to injury, they've also shut North Station, one of the mail commuter-rail hubs. Many Boston merchants are literally sleeping in their stores.
Who is the genius behind this decision? The U.S. Secret Service. Once a city requests Secret Service protection for a "national-security event," city officials and Secret Service officials form a joint task force and try to work out a plan, but the Secret Service has the last word in the event of a disagreement.
Why shut down the main highway? Because it runs right by the Fleet Center, and North Station is just next door. Someone could put a large bomb on the highway, or in the station, and blow away the convention. Of course, it's not clear why it would be OK to blow up half of downtown Boston the other 361 days of the year. Why not just shut down all the main arteries all the time?
Another lame decision: They've removed the trash cans from several major streets, apparently on the premise that someone could hide a bomb. But wouldn't a bomber be savvy enough to find another hiding place?
Oddly, there are also other, equally random lapses. Once a news organization is approved for a certain number of press passes to secure areas, a designee picks up the passes, and they can then be given to anyone. Party VIPs get no special screening, either.
The block around John Kerry's Beacon Hill home is closed off, but a Realtor friend says she just rented an apartment "with a perfect sightline to Kerry's house" to a fellow who obviously got no special screening. "He could have been Lee Harvey Oswald," she says.
Meanwhile, down in New York, the local cops don't roll over so easily. Madison Square Garden, like its Boston counterpart, stands right next to a major rail hub. But during the Republican national convention, Penn Station will stay open.
Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect.
