Good grief. I can't believe someone actually approved this "photo op". Some one's head was up their a$$ on this one. And yes, considering the money involved in this stunt, I used the $$ on purpose, not necessarily to mask using the word "ass".
What a stupid move. Can you imagine what was going through the minds of the people who saw this happening? People were fleeing from high rise buildings in absolute fear of their lives. Had I been there, I would have been right with them. Not a doubt in my mind.
It's bad enough that someone, Caldera or whoever, had the bright idea to use NY landmarks as a photo op, but I'm also wondering just how much this cost. This dumb move needs to come out of some one's pocket and I don't mean the taxpayer's. It's bad enough that we're paying for Wall Street screw-ups, I don't want to pay for this dumb-a$$ move.
Has Caldera and the WH military office never heard of Photoshop? No, they can't use stock footage, they have to film something new, something exciting! They have to have stock footage they can show when Obama is flying in and out of NYC. They have to burn, and I do mean burn, thousands of dollars shooting film that will be used how? how often? For what reason?
This is one time I want to know who, why, how much, and who's paying for it.
Stupid, no, beyond stupid.
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Update: I sent emails to my three Congressional employees expressing my anger over such an act. First, what it did to the people who saw the low-flying planes and relived the terror and horror of 9-11 as they ran from their buildings, and second, over what it cost in the light of today's economy.
Personally, if I were among those running from their buildings, reliving the terror of September 11, I would be looking for a lawyer to sue the socks off someone. Generally, I don't hold with suing "just because" someone endured a little stress, but this is beyond the pale. At the least, it was thoughtless and inconsiderate to inflict this nightmare on NYC without notice. At the worst, considering how we're being inundated every day by how bad the economy is, how long it's going to last, I think there might be some misuse of public funds involved.
As a result of someone's stupid, lame-brained, dumb-assed idea, the taxpayers are going to pay for the 747, two fighters, their crews, and any lawsuits that come out of this stupid stunt.
Maybe the expense caused by this exceedingly stupid idea should come out of the budget of the White House military office. Or better yet the pockets of the yahoos who came up with the idea, and who signed off on it.
Update 4-28: Apparently, it costs somewhere in the vicinity of $56,000 an hour to put AF1 in the air. I'm assuming that's the cost of the 747, fuel, crew, and everything else down to the last bag of peanuts on board.
How much did the NYC fly-over photo-op cost? If Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) recent musings are any clue, Republicans may be looking to seize on this. It's hard to know the exact cost without more details of the flight, but a 2006 report by the House Government Reform Committee gives us a clue.
The report was prepared at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) while Democrats were in the minority. (Waxman is now chairman ofthe committee). Entitled "THE COST OF PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL POLITICAL TRAVEL," the report was clearly intended to criticize President Bush and Vice President Cheney's extensive travel around the country to campaign for Republicans in the midterm elections.
It reads in part: "This report assumes that flight operating costs are $56,518 per hour for Air Force One and $14,552 per hour for Air Force Two. These figures are based on the perhour cost figures cited by GAO for fiscal year 2000, adjusted for inflation."
Now the question becomes, how many hours was the plane in the air?
Looks like the report Waxman requested (to embarrass Bush?) may come back to bite the Dems in the butt.
@ 11:52 am by Eric Zimmermann
How much did the NYC fly-over photo-op cost? If Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) recent musings are any clue, Republicans may be looking to seize on this. It's hard to know the exact cost without more details of the flight, but a 2006 report by the House Government Reform Committee gives us a clue.
The report was prepared at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) while Democrats were in the minority. (Waxman is now chairman ofthe committee). Entitled "THE COST OF PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL POLITICAL TRAVEL," the report was clearly intended to criticize President Bush and Vice President Cheney's extensive travel around the country to campaign for Republicans in the midterm elections.
It reads in part: "This report assumes that flight operating costs are $56,518 per hour for Air Force One and $14,552 per hour for Air Force Two. These figures are based on the perhour cost figures cited by GAO for fiscal year 2000, adjusted for inflation."
Now the question becomes, how many hours was the plane in the air?
Looks like the report Waxman requested (to embarrass Bush?) may come back to bite the Dems in the butt.
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