Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sorry, New York, He's New!

The whole "photo op" thing, where the backup Air Force One and a F-16 buzzed the Statue of Liberty, sending Manhattan folks running into the streets in terror that 9-11 was being repeated, all that was just a misunderstanding. President Obama is really sorry, and it won't happen again.

And that $320,000 pricetag, on top of the hundreds of millions lost by panicky traders, that's just awful, says Obama. He'll look into it. Promise.

Is it even worth mentioning my Humble skepticism?

My Humble guess is, Rahm Emanuel, in his role as Chief of Staff, suggested updating all that Bush era publicity material. Coming as it did from the god-king's head priest, no one was about to say, "Gee, your holiness, won't that cause widespread panic and mayhem?" Louis Caldera, the White House Military Office chief nervously signed off on it. No need to tell him that if it blew up, he was going to "take one for the team". In statements to the press, Caldera is quoted as having "approved" the fly-by. This is HOT! Caldera used code for "it was my superiors poor judgment to do this. I was just the unlucky bastard who had to sign the order." Who actually requested the fly-by that Caldera approved? We'll never know. Caldera is taking one for the team.

Caldera is an interesting case. He's a West Point grad and a lawyer. He has to be as smart as they come. Obama, lacking executive experience must surround himself with experts. Right? Yet this particular expert has been tossed under the bus. His service to this country in the armed forces has been essentially thrown out the window because of this blunder.

So, all in all, sorry, New York. Sorry thousands of terrified financial district workers. Sorry, tourists. Messina is looking into how it ever could have happened.

What a load of crap.