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Julian has been a real wiseass the whole trip, particularly for someone who got a free trip to Europe and a ride in a Tesla.


ASM

> On Feb 8, 2015, at 1:21 PM, Eric Schwerin <eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com> wrote:
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> Is this a change now that Alex is handling some press duties?
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> Or did Finnegan and Anne Marie have something to do with this?
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> http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-52858
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> Biden’s Motorcade Gets an Unusually Smooth Ride, Courtesy of a Tesla
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> Vice President Joe Biden may have been disappointed he didn’t get to ride in a black Tesla Model S that unexpectedly appeared in his motorcade.
> Julian Barnes
> BRUSSELS—Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade on Friday sported the coolest ride in the U.S. government: a black Tesla Model S.
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> Mr. Biden’s love for cars is well known. The son of a car dealer, he has given interviews to Car and Driver, visited the Detroit Auto Show, and has memorably been teased by The Onion for his alleged affection for older-model muscle cars.
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> So it may be a disappointment to the vice president that he did not actually get to ride in the Tesla. It was the press car.
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> For the uninitiated, Tesla is the oft-buzzed about electric-car company founded by inventor Elon Musk.
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> A bit context: most government motorcades feature a comfy black sedan or a black sport utility vehicle for the senior official at the head of the parade. The president and vice president are usually moved around in an armored Cadillac—which is usually flown overseas.
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> The traveling press, on the other hand, has the “pleasure” of being stuffed into vans at the end of the motorcade. Labeled “Press 1” or (if there enough reporters) “Press 2,” the vans usually feature nausea-inducing and bone-jarring rides. The vehicles often struggle to keep up with faster sedans and are frequently left behind by the local police escort.
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> For the record, lower ranking staff does not usually have it much better—they are also crammed into nondescript vans.
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> Mr. Biden’s motorcade in Brussels last Friday, at first, was like any other. The press pool, with one Washington-based reporter and several Brussels-based journalists, rode in a somewhat unremarkable Mercedes van. (Although, to be fair, the embassy and Mr. Biden’s advance team stocked the van with apples, clementines, soft drinks and mixed nuts—an unusually generous bounty.)
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> After the conclusion of Mr. Biden’s public events—meeting with European leaders—the Brussels-based press left the traveling pool, taking Press 1 with them.
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> That left the single remaining pool reporter without a ride. Enter the Tesla.
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> The Secret Service swept the car for bombs and it joined the rear of the motorcade as what U.S. officials acknowledged was the coolest “Press 1” the world has ever known.
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> The car was supplied by the company hired to provide vehicles for the motorcade and was one of the few American-made vehicles available for use by the delegation, according to people familiar with the matter. Before joining the motorcade, the Tesla had been used by staffers to prepare for Mr. Biden’s visit to Brussels.
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> How was the ride? Still pretty bumpy given some of the cobblestone streets of Brussels. But the city sights, including the Royal Palace of Brussels, viewed through the Tesla’s panoramic glass roof were undeniably amazing. While the car’s acceleration was not tested on the city streets of Brussels, on the way to the airport, suffice it to say, the automobile at the back of the line had no trouble keeping pace with the motorcade.
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> It appears that Mr. Biden was not aware of the Tesla in his traveling party. The rear of the entourage was well out of Mr. Biden’s view. Which was probably a good thing for the reporter in the Tesla because otherwise the vice president might well have commandeered Press 1 for himself.
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> Alas, the fabulous ride did not last. In Munich, Mr. Biden’s stop after Brussels, the vice president had a motorcade of well over 20 cars. Near the end was Press 1. It was a Mercedes minivan. Quite nice by government motorcade standards, but not a Tesla.
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> Eric D. Schwerin
> eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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> Sent from my iPhon