In response to your comment “Not sure why this was even an item in the DMN. Does anyone really expect the President or anyone else uberfamous to live somewhere without any entry restrictions?” I agree… entry restrictions may be needed to protect private citizens and should be funded by HOA, private citizens, etc… not the taxpayers. Bush can personally purchase a firearm, bodyguard or entourage to protect his self, home or family if needed just like millions of Americans do (good news to the taxpayer though, he will be the first President to only receive Secret Service protection for 10 years rather than a lifetime).

Hello GGC -

In response to your comment “President bush is paying for the gate. Love to see how they make everything his fault.” To calrify, Bush is not paying for the gate, the taxpayers are. I agree it is not unreasonable for any past President or Vice President to have security but Bush could have chosen a location already gated rather than needlessly blowing tax dollars to construct a new gate, especially in today’s economic climate. This activity leaves a bad taste in peoples’ mouths, while Congress is slaughtering auto execs for flying around in jets as their revenue plummets are we expected to turn a blind eye to avoidable spending by our government? Then again, he is nothing more than a liberal spending democrat (just look at his spending record and immigration policy) masquerading as a Republican (and the republican base fell for it twice). After excluding defense and homeland security spending, he is the largest spending President in 30 years. It is hard to care about the money being spent when it is not your own and this gate is a fine example of that.

Gates with Secret Service behind them certainly do put a damper on unwanted activities. I presume it makes guarding the house a lot easier if you have a method of regulating how much and what kind of traffic enters the street. It will likely be more than your average apartment complex gate – there are several mechanisms that can be installed along with a gate to counter attempts at ramming.

Seems to me a gate is sensible and not at all unexpected. Without a gate – and maybe even with a gate – DPD would have its hands full responding to traffic, noise, and trespassing complaints.