POTUS In Sweden

President Obama is in Sweden today and tomorrow on the very first official presidential visit to Sweden ever. (W was here a few years back for a meeting that just happened to be held in Sweden, but didn't actually meet with any Swedes, so it doesn't count.) The whole city of Stockholm has bent over backwards to accommodate the complicated presidental logistics around the visit, including, naturally, our office. We work about ten minutes from the airport and all hoped to see Air Force One coming in for landing. We hung out the widows with our cameras, followed a live news report from the airport online, and tracked the air traffic. Sadly, though, AF1 came in from the north and we were unable to see it. The Swede and I did take a walk toward the highway after the president landed and watched the motorcade go by. We couldn't see him, but we did see exactly why it costs so much money every time the president takes a trip. Between the police on the ground and in the sky and the carefully orchestrated security to ensure a smooth twenty minute drive into the city, it all made me very happy to be a civilian.