The nation narrowly avoided a horrific tragedy Saturday night—and history will record it as just that. The scene at the Washington Hilton looked more like a motion picture, it wasn’t. It was reality: Someone intending to assassinate the President of the United States and as many cabinet officials as possible made it past the first round of security.

There was enormous attention to this particular dinner—the White House Correspondents Association dinner. This was the first of these dinners that Donald Trump, as President, was planning to attend.

Every time something like this happens however, everyone has to learn new hard lessons.

I am confident of this: There will now be a new protocol for the security for the President and Vice President of the United States, and perhaps for others in the line of succession.

History often records how close we have come to disaster. And though on the other side of it, everything has to change in a moment.

Perhaps we need to learn some very constructive lessons from a near miss.