Originally Posted by
DanTravels
This. In other words, not US politicians, but VIPs from other countries. "Protocol Offices" are typically Ministry-of-Foreign-Affairs stuff.
At airports that lack a Protocol Office, you end up with the club's "conference room" being taken over by Secret Service or Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the VIP to use, and lots of linebacker-sized guys in suits with earpieces and lapel pins (the kind of lapel pins that are inconspicuous unless you know what they are, in which case they're very conspicuous) hanging around the club making small talk.
(I was in the EWR WorldClub a couple years back, at the same time as the King of Sweden.)
I don't vote for, or pay for any of these guys, so if the king of Sweden needs a private room overflowing with coke and hookers - rock on!
Actually, as a (hopefully) good host, I would like to think that, in an official capacity, our government does try to provide a warm, welcoming environment for foreign dignitaries, that both honors their status and respects our culture, customs, and tradition. (I make this last comment because I recall an incident many years ago, when the king of Saudi Arabia, who was a prince at the time, was visiting the United States. Apparently, the FAA ordered that only male flight controllers interact with his flight, so that his pilots weren't offended by having to professionally interact with women. I considered this to be extremely insulting to the United States).