Can you believe the attention that Bush is getting over this aircraft?
That is trivial, and I believe the politicians need to resolve bigger issues.
Is everything an issue for politicizing? :)
President's Flawless Landing Earns Critics
Thursday, May 08, 2003
WASHINGTON — A growing number of congressional Democrats are saying President Bush's historic landing aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (search) aircraft carrier last week symbolizes politics run amok.
They say the crass manipulation of the carrier's flight deck was not a merger of patriotism and power but a floating soundstage for a re-election campaign commercial and a cheapening of U.S. military sacrifices.
"To me, it is an affront to the Americans killed or injured in Iraq for the president to exploit the trappings of war for the momentary spectacle of a speech," said West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd (search) on the Senate floor Tuesday. "I do question the motives of a deskbound president who assumes the garb of a warrior for the purposes of a speech."
The White House calls the landing and announcement of a formal end to major combat in Iraq a fitting tribute to all U.S. troops.
"I think that the 5,000 sailors on that ship recognized this for what it was: the president going out there to say thank you to those who risked their lives," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday.
"More than 100 Americans in our military paid the ultimate price to defend us, and this president is proud to have visited the Abraham Lincoln, to have flown onto it, to say thank you in person to those who defend our country," Fleischer added.
The White House concedes the tailhook landing required some stage management. At first, the White House said the president had to land by Navy jet because the ship was too far off shore. But then, when it appeared the Abraham Lincoln was close enough for a helicopter landing, Bush still chose the jet, an SB-3 Viking.
"The president wanted to land on it, on an aircraft that would allow him to see an aircraft landing the same way that the pilots saw an aircraft landing. He wanted to see it as realistically as possible," Fleischer said.
The Lincoln also slowed down to keep the coastline out of camera range when the president delivered his Thursday night speech announcing the end to major hostilities. The nautical machinations prompted California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman (search) to seek an investigation into all taxpayer costs of the Bush trip.
"Since last week's event — which had clear political overtones — was paid for by American taxpayers, I ask that GAO provide a full accounting of the costs associated with the President's trip," Waxman wrote in a letter to the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm.
The request led Fleischer to retort: "Congressman Waxman has never met a Republican he didn't want to investigate."
Late Wednesday, Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers also issued a letter to the Defense Department requesting an accounting of the trip's cost.
"It does a grave disservice to our men and women in uniform when they are used as a shield to hide from public accountability for a shameless and tacky taxpayer-financed photo opportunity," he said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, other House Democrats released a parody of the MasterCard advertisements, alleging the Lincoln stayed at sea an extra day at a cost of up to $1 million. The tagline on the ad — "Shameless."
Senior Defense Department officials told Fox News the cost of the event was far below the $1 million alleged by Democrats and the Abraham Lincoln arrived right on schedule.
URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86273,00.html |
