Velvet Rope Revolution

This is not surprising:

Someday soon, visitors to the Arundel Center will be guided by movie-theater style ropes to the security desk, where they will need clearance to visit the floor where County Executive John R. Leopold works.

The county plans to spend about $15,000 to close security loopholes at the county's office building, a project that includes installing security cameras and regulating access to the elevator.

While the move is similar to security measures in other Maryland counties, critics said it cuts off access to our elected officials.

Police detectives who provide a security detail to the county executive suggested the tighter rules.

County spokesman Marina Harrison said the county will be eliminating "gaps that should have been closed long ago."

Look, I think we can all agree that some limited security measures are important, even in buildings seemingly as low a priority target as the Arundel Center. But isn't this a little bit extreme, even if unsurprising that it originates in the administration of somebody as cut off from the real world as John Leopold?