McCain Holds Off on Secret Service Protection

Sen. John McCain shakes hands after a town-hall meeting Exeter, N.H. McCain has private security guards but so far has declined Secret Service protection. (By Darren Mccollester -- Getty Images)

McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, has long nurtured a tough-guy image. He has derided the Secret Service protection as "a waste of taxpayer money" and proudly proclaimed that he would reject the enhanced security as long as he could.

"It's my intention, if we win this nomination, to reject Secret Service. . . . Why do I need it?" he told reporters in mid-November, as he campaigned in New Hampshire. "The day that the Secret Service can assure me that if we're driving in the motorcade and there's a guy on a rooftop with a rifle, that they can stop that guy, then I'll say 'fine,' " he said. "But the day they tell me, 'Well, we can't guarantee it,' then, fine, I'll take my chances."

Former Secret Service agent Andrew O'Connell, who helped protect Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said McCain is taking an unnecessary risk.

"I don't think it's a wise move," said O'Connell, now a managing director of Fortress Global Investigations, a New York-based security firm. "John McCain may believe that he's not as polarizing a figure as Hillary or Obama, but that's not the point. . . . The primary motivator of would-be assassins is not the dislike of the candidate. It's wanting to go out in a big way and make a name for yourself."

Once a candidate is elected president, he or she has no choice but to accept Secret Service protection. Until then, it must be requested. Since it became clear that McCain would be the GOP nominee, his advisers have become increasingly concerned about his safety and have urged reporters not to mention the lack of Secret Service protection.

Once a candidate requests protection, the decision about whether he will receive it falls to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Chertoff is aided by a five-member advisory panel that includes the House speaker and minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders and an at-large member, who this year is the House sergeant-at-arms.

To be eligible, candidates must reach certain thresholds in fundraising and in the polls, and must belong to recognized political parties, Sullivan told lawmakers.

The Secret Service is spending about $38,000 per candidate per day, Sullivan said, and at the height of campaign season later this year expects to spend $44,000 per candidate each day. The agency has protected candidates at more than 1,000 campaign venues and has put 550,000 people through magnetometers and metal detectors, he said.

In a remarkably active election campaign, the Secret Service's budget for candidate protection is $85.3 million for fiscal 2008. For fiscal 2009, which begins Oct. 1, it is $41 million.

"This is going to be the costliest campaign in the Secret Service's history," said Rep. David E. Price (D-N.C.), the subcommittee chairman.

Staff researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.