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President Lincoln rode the train to Washington. No security. He was practically anonymous - just another guy on the train.

People could walk right into the White House and seek an appointment with Lincoln.

After his assassination, everything changed. Presidents got more security, etc. Things really changed again with the advent of the Anarchists in the early 1900s, who assassinated president McKinley. "The Black Hand" is a fascinating read that touches on this.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30971759-the-black-hand

These days, presidents and other high officials get credible death threats all the time.

I think there's security and then there's showmanship.

Judging by what I saw here in Helsinki a couple of days ago, there's a decent amount of showbiz going on with both Putin and Trump. But I'm no security expert..

Thanks for the interesting book recommendation!

It's also self-reinforcing. Kill the American president and you're extremely famous, because he is supposed to be the best-protected man.

Kill the Finnish president and spend the rest of your life in prison? Less enticing.

I don't remember who killed Anna Lindh a few years ago. I kind of remember who tried to kill the pope many years ago (spelling etc. gets problematic).

I certainly know (not remember (I haven't been born) who killed JFK.