so does Betty still get Secret Service protection now that GRF is gone?

[greenbriar]

she is such a strong awesome lady, I bet there are many issues she will have to deal with coming after all the pomp and circumstance is gone

[PCIntern]

1. i'm old enough to remember "BessWatch"

They'd assign Secret Service to watch her, even though poor Harry had been dead for years and she was God knows how old.

them's the rules...and I happen to agree with them. Lunatics everywhere.

[Warpy]

12. Same here, she's almost 89

it's not like she's going to live another 30 years and break the bank.

And yes, there are loonies everywhere and they're getting more likely to act out.

[finecraft]

2. Yes she does. The Sec. Serv. is still guarding Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird has the distinction of being guarded by the Secret Service longer than anyone else.

[greenbriar]

4. shes still alive?

I thought Lady Bird was dead

[finecraft]

5. Still alive and just turned 94 on December 12th

She is pretty much blind and confined to a wheelchair and doesn't appear in public often, but she made an appearance at the Johnson Library in October of this year.

[greenbriar]

6. wow...thats cool

and how old is Nancy?


I would HATE to outlive my hubby that many years...

I married a younger man for that reason ;)

[finecraft]

8. Nancy is 85. She was born in 1921

Lady Bird was born in 1912. Bess Truman was 97 when she died, so if Lady Bird makes it to August 2010, she will be the longest lived First Lady in history.

[Hoosier Dem]

10. Nancy Reagan is 83 or 85 (there are two different birth years given)

As for mrs. Johnson, she's had one of the longest widowhoods of any first lady. Right now, I think she ranks fourth after Mrs. Polk (42 years), Mrs. Cleveland (39 years) and Mrs. Garfield (37 years). Lyndon Johnson died in 1973, 34 years ago this January. A very sad record to hold.

[laylah]

17. 10 yrs. younger

than my Gram would have been, on the same day, were she still alive.

Jenn

[cornermouse]

18. Good.

They should be protected.

[dsc]

3. She does

Jackie had SS protection for decades after Kennedy died. I think Lady Bird also had SS protection for decades too.

[Hoosier Dem]

7. ALL former presidents and first ladies are given SS Protection...

Currently, the following have the protection:

Lady Bird Johnson
Betty Ford
Nancy Reagan
George HW and Barbara Bush
Bill and Hillary Clinton

The Carters asked that their protection end a few years ago and the request was honored.

I think it should be automatic as there are just WAY too many kooks out there now.

[greenbriar]

9. wonder why carters asked to end theirs

maybe they thoguht it cost to much???

he is pretty frugal

[Hoosier Dem]

11. Or, maybe the Carters just didnt like the intrusion?

[BlueIris]

13. Yeah, that's just...President Carter still does a LOT of what I would

think might be um, "high risk" diplomatic work. President Carter? At least get some private security, sir.

[BuelahWitch]

14. Yeah, he's one who would need it

[madeline_con]

15. yes

[Synnical]

16. Yes, but Congress changed the rules effective 1997

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/shared/news/stories/2006/12/BUSH_PROTECTION18_COX_W4785.html
Monday, December 18, 2006

<snippage>

In 1994, Congress amended the post-presidency protection rules, deciding to offer Secret Service protection for only 10 years after a president leaves office. Specific threats can spark exceptions to the 10-year rule.

Because the change did not take effect until 1997, the current president is the first one entitled to only 10 years of Secret Service protection for himself and his family.

"It makes absolutely no sense," Updegrove said of the end of lifetime protection. "Particularly in a world where al-Qaeda is a constant threat. I'm quite certain it was a cost-saving measure."

Richard M. Nixon, though entitled to lifetime protection, gave it up in 1985. He died in 1994.

Updegrove, like the budgeters, sees a Bush post-presidency unlike any other. His book, "Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House," examines what life has been like for previous ex-presidents.

"My guess is George W. Bush will be more of a target than his more recent predecessor by virtue of the fact that he made some monumental decisions that affected the Middle East," Updegrove said. "He has a lot of enemies in the world."