Bush Visit Is Old Hat for Security Man, Guard to Political VIPs Since Truman

If George Bush wants to impress Paul Novotny during the President’s brief stay today in San Diego, he may need to tongue-lash somebody publicly.

As a kid, a cop for 30 years, and now director of security at the U.S. Grant Hotel (where Bush stayed last night), Novotny has had a close-up view of numerous San Diego visits by Presidents and presidential candidates.

As a youth, he played clarinet for the Bonham Brothers Boys’ Band (sponsored by a local mortuary). The band serenaded F.D.R. when he arrived at the Broadway Pier in 1935 aboard a Navy cruiser.

In 1948, Novotny was among those cops assigned to guard Harry Truman during his pre-dawn jaunts at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Nice guy, Novotny said.

Novotny, 67, had a knack for pulling VIP duty.

He remembers Dwight Eisenhower sneaking off to play golf, John F. Kennedy drawing an immense crowd during the 1960 campaign (which the conservative Copley Press downplayed as a non-event), and Barry Goldwater relaxing and bantering with friends in 1964.

He has less pleasant memories of Lyndon Johnson arriving late at Lindbergh Field in 1964:

“The Secret Service warned us: Stay out of his way when he gets off the plane. They told us he’d kick or push anybody who got in his way.”

He remembers sadly the visit by Robert F. Kennedy on June 3, 1968. True to the polarized politics of the day, the liberal Kennedy didn’t want any cops around him as he stumped in Logan Heights and San Ysidro.

The next night, just hours after the polls closed, Kennedy was mortally wounded by Sirhan Sirhan as he left the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

“It’s always been said in police circles that if Kennedy had allowed cops to be close by rather than just Rosey Grier, who was not trained in security, he might have been spared,” Novotny said.

As for his favorite presidential memory, Novotny points to Ronald Reagan. He recalls Reagan’s rally at Fashion Valley on Election Eve, 1980:

“Some guy was heckling him, so Reagan just looked at him and said, ‘Aw, shut up.’ That’s the kind of candidate I like. A guy who tells it like it is.”

President Bush, take note.

Surfing the Sewage

Read it and weep.

* Cowabunga. And fecal coliform, too.

The sight of surfers ignoring large warning signs (“DANGER. CONTAMINATED WATER. KEEP OUT.”) and continuing to surf in sewage-polluted waters off Point Loma reminds George Mitrovich of when author George Plimpton spoke to the City Club.

Plimpton was asked why he has never included surfing in his participatory sports journalism.

“Because,” he answered, “I prefer sports where the participants can read .”

* Abortion-rights activists plan to picket President Bush this morning while he speaks to the Rotary Club.

* “The Stardust Grill Room Murders,” which opens tonight at the Handlery Hotel (the former Stardust Inn), is laden with references to San Diego of the past.

Sharp-eyed play-goers will also notice a performer they haven’t seen in a while: Spike Sorrentino.

A decade ago, he starred in a TV commercial for the Padres that caused a mini-stir in religious circles. He was the angelic-faced guy who dressed in friar’s garb, swung a bat and invited fans down to the ballpark.

* At Thursday’s acid-tinged mayoral debate, Peter Navarro even saved a swipe for President Bush:

“Those thousand points of light that George Bush talks about are the taillights of our businesses leaving town.”

Workers Worth Bashing

Ever since President Bush’s visit to Japan, Japanese politicians have been bashing American workers.

Bob Tatum, the San Diego electronics executive running in the 49th Congressional District, thinks the Japanese are aiming their barbs at the wrong group of Americans.

He notes the work schedule of the U.S. Congress.

Last week: Monday, not in session. Tuesday, State of Union Address. Wednesday and Thursday, no legislative business. Friday, not in session.

This week: Monday, not in session. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, no legislative business. Friday, not in session.

Next week: Vacation.

“If the Japanese think all Americans are lazy, incompetent and greedy,” Tatum said, “maybe it’s because they’ve been looking at Congress.”