Two new buses built from the ground up for Midwestern tour
(NEWSER) - This bus is Barackin', so don't bother knockin': President Obama is cruising the Midwest in a customized bus that is essentially a pumped-up version of his five-ton hulking limo, dubbed "the Beast." The bus, one of two ordered up by the Secret Service, sports bulletproof black windows, puncture-proof tires, five-inch thick doors, and its own oxygen supplies, reports NPR . "The president needs to get out in the country and meet with real folks in real places," said White House spokesman Jay Carney aboard Air Force One. "A plane this size is hard to get into small communities." More»