Possible Plot Against Obama Thwarted

News of the alleged plot was first reported by the local CBS affiliate in Denver and the Rocky Mountain News. The local reports said the investigation was opened after local police in Aurora, Colo., which is located in Arapahoe County, made a traffic stop and discovered two rifles and methamphetamine. Authorities subsequently went to the Cherry Creek Hotel and knocked at the door of a guest in the middle of the night; the guest jumped out of his sixth-floor window but was subsequently recaptured. The man allegedly said something about Obama to authorities, but it could not be ascertained what comments were made, the reports said.

…Wednesday evening, the FBI confirmed the identity of one of the suspects: Tharin Robert Gartrell. A source familiar with the investigation said that Gartrell and the other two suspects were believed to be white supremacists. The real question now is whether the men were in position to carry out any kind of threats against the candidate—or whether they were trying to impress girlfriends, the source said. The Obama campaign declined comment, referring reporters to the U.S. attorney's statement.

I was a little hesitant to post this, because I'm quite honestly not sure if it unnecessarily stokes fears about Obama's safety—and it drives me nutzoid when people talk about how they're convinced a horrible fate will befall him and positively makes my teeth grind when I hear someone use that as a justification for not wanting to vote for him. (Although I've heard that a lot less since he got the Dem nomination.)

But, on the other hand, I think it's reflective of the reality that there are violent racists out there—and, whatever anyone has to say about Barack Obama as a politician, he has to take an extra risk to blaze this particular trail.

There's a lot of talk about John McCain's bravery as a POW; all things being equal, stories like this one ought to serve as the backdrop for a lot of talk about Obama's bravery as a groundbreaking candidate. Of course, that would require speaking honestly about our imperfect country.

God Bless America.