Mock, Mock

In retrospect, it's easy to mock the fly-by photo op of Air Force One (yeah, I know, O wasn't on it, so it wasn't really ....deal with it) in New York. I agree with the people who say that they could have done just as well with Photoshop, and maybe better (flying upside down? towing someone on skis? Wait, is that Joe Biden?), even though that would have been a wonderful gift to the conspiracy theorists of the world (ya see, we KNEW the Apollo landing were faked!) And I agree with the people who asked why we needed this at all (and here's a shot of Air Force One back when we could still afford big planes like that to just go up and stooge around....) I even agree with the people who say that it was a routine training mission that happened to take along some photographers to Capture The Moment. I think they're being sly when they say 'that money would have just been spent on a different mission', because, whether it was or not, the idea was that this one was not a good idea. Perhaps if AF1 had opened the Special Presidential Ejection Pod Bay Doors and dropped a few million jelly beans and mallowmars down, people would have felt differently. Dropping Dick Cheney would have been good, too.

The part I have a problem with is the resignation. It's obvious why he did it (hey! I didn't sign.. that's not my signature! Rahm! Hey, RAHM....It's just business, Caldera, nothing personal); whether he should have is for politicians to decide (it's getting a little cold in here....let's toss another peon on the fire). Though I did like Dana Perrino's snarky observation that in their administration, they had a military man in that position. Humpf. I told that to my wife, and she almost went ballistic. So all of their appointees were made on the basic of merit? They didn't screen for political loyalty as the first and sometimes the only criteria? Not that OUR side would ever do that.

But having decided that he was leaving, he gave an apology which even Rumsfeld would have liked. I'm sorry that you weren't sufficiently prepared for the experience, even though we told everyone we could think of. Of course, they couldn't make this public knowledge, because of Military Secrecy, and if we'd told you, well, the terrorists would have won. He couldn't just say 'hey you know what? I screwed up. I shoulda, woulda, coulda, but I didn't, and now I'm gone.' No. He fuzzed it.

And that part, I didn't like.