Maryland Conservatarian

Strange story:

“A plane used as a backup for Air Force One and a fighter-jet escort swooped low in the sky over New York on Monday as part of a government photo op, panicking workers, forcing evacuations and prompting an outcry from lawmakers.” Aerial Photo Op Recalls 9/11 for Some

Apparently this was simply a photo op; the President was not onboard. Now I know the cynics among us might wonder how this flight – with its potentially devastating impact on global warming – was even authorized. Alternatively, some of us may wonder why the Administration didn’t schedule several more of these flights then cancel them as part of a widely-heralded cost cutting move. The White House explains:

“But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, when questioned about the matter at his daily afternoon briefing, said…”

…that the White House was still working on how to blame the Bush Administration for the incident.

Nah – just kidding – he said “he was unaware of the photo mission.”

What was wrong with the old photo?

“The photo, featuring the Statue of Liberty, is to replace one of the aircraft flying near Mount Rushmore, the person said.”

I’m guessing they think those old photos will soon be obsolete with the imminent addition of the Barack Obama profile.

Side Note: "The sight of the planes outside their windows sent some workers out of their buildings. "People started moving down on their own," said an executive who works at a large financial services firm near Ground Zero and who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by his company to speak publicly. "Particularly for people like myself who were here on September 11, it was kind of an uncool thing. Someone should have made a public announcement."

This would seem a strange topic to have to get company permission to talk about but even stranger…the Washington Post couldn’t find one other person in all of Manhattan willing to go on record about public reaction?