Hillary Clinton has arrived at her first campaign stop, completing the 965 mile trip from Chappaqua, New York to Le Claire, Iowa in about two days time. Her choice of transportation? A Secret Service owned and operated van.
The van, however, isn't an everyday minivan or even a full-sized van. It's a luxury vehicle outiftted with top amenities.
Specifically: It's a limited edition Chevrolet Express van upfitted with a Limited SE packed by Explorer Vans company "It's very luxurious," a salesman who helped deliver this vehicle tells me on the phone. "I'd rank it up there with the best."
The model being used to chauffeur Hillary Clinton around has a gray leather interior, heated seat, a 29 inch Samsung television, and a Blu-ray DVD player.
There is no refrigerator in the van. However, Hillary's model does feature an ice chest between the two front seats. (Which might have been used to keep her cottage cheese cold.) The middle chairs are swivel and quick release. Indirect lighting (like mood lighting) throughout the vans.
Oh, and there's a bed. The power sofa in the rear of the vehicle converts into a bed. But given the fact it's only a 6 foot wide vehicle, it might have been a little hard to get a proper night's sleep in it.
But it's not exactly great for the environment. It's a 2014 model all-wheel-drive that gets only 16-18 miles per gallon.
The customer, the salesman says, insisted on all-wheel-drive.
This is Clinton's third van from Explorer Vans. And while they had a 9 seater in the past, this one only seats seven.
"There's so much room inside this compared to a SUV," the salesman explains.
The salesman was not able to give me the exact price the Secret Service paid for the vehicle (as it went through a third party dealership) but guessed that it cost taxpayers something like $60,000.
Daniel Halper is the author of Clinton, Inc.: The Audacious Rebuilding of a Political Machine.
