THE CONSERVATIVE REVIEW - September 23, 2014

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*-- Secret Service considers putting more barriers around White House --*
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The Secret Service is considering new security measures to restrict access to the White House after a man jumped the fence and entered the residence.

The options being considered include widening the security perimeter to keep people off the sidewalks, blocking off the block around the White House, including Lafayette Park, and requiring a security checkpoint to get into the area, reports the Washington Post.

The concerns come after veteran Omar J. Gonzales jumped the White House fence and made it through the unlocked front door with a knife before being stopped by Secret Service.

One aspect of the security breach that is being overlooked is the failure of the Secret Service officers, critics say.

"This is the most basic, the most simple type of procedure and how anyone, especially in these days of ISIS, and we're concerned about terrorist attacks, someone could actually get into the White House without being stopped is inexcusable," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told Fox News Sunday.

The Secret Service has faced a string of scandals recently ranging from prostitution in Cartagena to drunken displays at international summits. Ron Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect, said the fact Gonzales made it that far shows an unwarranted amount of hubris among the Secret Service.

"Never before has an intruder on the grounds managed to enter the White House itself," he said. "The fact that the Secret Service does not even provide a lock for the front door of the White House demonstrates its arrogance."

The Secret Service walks a fine line between keeping the mansion secure and cutting off access to the "people's house." Putting barbed wire on top of the fence is a possibility, but that would tarnish the image of an accessible president leading a free and open democracy.

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