05/08/2009
White House Releases Air Force One Manhattan Flyover Photo
Your tax dollars paid for this. Louis Caldera, the aide who took the blame for terrorizing lower Manhattan on April 27, resigned today. Flashback, AFTER THE JUMP...
Posted 6:45 PM EST by Andy Towle in New York, News | Permalink
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Well, if he is responsible Louis Caldera should take the blame.
Posted by: DJ | May 8, 2009 7:14:30 PM
Louis Caldera left his job with the right wing owned Belo Mews corp to take this job...We ask, did he approve it to embarse Obama Adm?
Posted by: K Lee | May 8, 2009 7:17:24 PM
Shocking... just shocking. Like no one saw this resignation coming any day now.
Posted by: obmitar | May 8, 2009 7:23:56 PM
An aide?! That's the only person gone over this, one aide. Seriously, if one aide has the power to send AF1 and escorts out to take publicity shoots, we're boned.
Posted by: Steve | May 8, 2009 8:09:28 PM
Eh. I'm just REALLY disappointed in the photo. It's nothing I couldn't put together with a basic graphics editor. Or some scotch tape and an airplane poster...
And don't worry about that aide. He'll be hired right back into another position in a month.
Posted by: sparks | May 8, 2009 8:39:51 PM
Beautiful! Worth every penny and every crapped-in pair of pants. ;)
Posted by: B-rod | May 8, 2009 8:57:38 PM
I do not understand the fascination over this story. Granted, it was not the best move, but do we need to hear about it day after day? Also, I am baffled by the obsession over the cost. We have wasted a trillion dollars in Iraq and people are more outraged about a $300,000 flight. Get some perspective.
Posted by: Paul | May 8, 2009 9:01:28 PM
@Paul - Or as some other Obama apologists have said "Why don't the people of New York get over it and quit whining about 9/11?"
It's not just about the cost, it's about making bad decisions, operating in secrecy, and terrifying people who are already suffering from PTSD. Self-centered people wouldn't understand.
Posted by: paul c | May 8, 2009 9:19:38 PM
Pretty lousy photo for all that.
Posted by: anon | May 8, 2009 9:35:32 PM
HAHA great video
Posted by: Jon | May 8, 2009 9:38:25 PM
Paul is right. This story is over done. Most of America could care less about this photo, where is was taken, and how much it cost.
Posted by: Billy | May 8, 2009 11:12:19 PM
For all the money and general-New-Yorkers-thinking-that-people-are-out-the-get-them-event-that-weird-guy-who-sleeps-on-that-bench-across-the-street-and-that-they're-the-center-of-the-world, I would have expected a better picture. I mean, it's the least one could expect.
I'm a Washingtonian and everyone here knows that someday, we're going to be bombed to a crisp and we only hope that the lead paint in our apartment is thick enough and that we have enough Chef Boyardee stocked. If a plane does the same thing here, and isn't landing eerily close via National Airport, I expect an awesome picture.
Posted by: Tony | May 8, 2009 11:25:31 PM
Paul C, stop trying to bait people into your Republican agenda. You sounds as lame as Hannity bitching that Obama used Grey Poupon mustard. Get a life.
Posted by: CJ | May 9, 2009 8:58:45 AM
Personally, I don't understand why they didn't just CGI the damn photo in the first place. They would have saved a ton of money and produced a much better product. Oh well, government isn't really known for their common sense.
Posted by: jefflrich | May 9, 2009 11:14:33 AM
Am I the only one on the planet that has spoken with friends in the Air Force about this incident, who noted that pilots need to practice a certain number of hours per month. apparently the Air Force One personnel double up this practice with photo op time so there is some tangible benefit in addition to the flight hours logged. That the Obama White House was unaware of this is as unremarkable as the Obama White House not being informed that some F-22 pilots were practicing.
The dick move was the secrecy, and failure to inform the Bloomberg administration, not the flyover itself.
Posted by: Michael | May 9, 2009 11:15:55 AM
@CJ - I'm not a Republican, but you are a fascist. You can tell me what to do when you a: get a fucking clue yourself, and b: your dream of totalitarian dictatorship comes true. Neither one looks likely any time soon, so how about you shove it up your ass in the meantime?
Posted by: paul c | May 9, 2009 11:43:05 AM
Steve, you need to read the details of the incident to know he wasn't just some aide, he was in charge and responsible.
Sparks, I don't think he will be rehired by Obama at all.
Thank you, CJ. Totally agree with you.
Paul C., you just keep sinking lower and lower in your immaturity.
Posted by: DJ | May 9, 2009 12:06:27 PM
@DJ - You're actually improving, as you didn't include any *eye rolling* in your latest brilliant comment.
Here's the deal - you don't agree with something I write? Then explain why you think I'm wrong. As far as I can tell, what's actually happening is not that you disagree with what I'm saying, but rather that you don't like what I'm saying, but can't dispute the facts.
I can't think of a much more immature response to a statement than CJ's typical "shut up"/"get a life"/"you're a republican" combo. My response to him was immature in that I responded on a level he could understand - his own.
As you are so fond of *eye rolling*, it's no surprise that you would feel a kinship with the equally juvenile CJ. Good luck with that.
Posted by: paul c | May 9, 2009 1:49:56 PM
Wait. The democratic congress FLINGS trillions at the banks and this is what pisses Towleroad off when it comes to this administration's handling of our money?
Posted by: Skyroboro | May 9, 2009 4:23:37 PM
Skyroboro, I think Andy is less concerned about the money and more about the inanity of the event.
Posted by: Paul R | May 9, 2009 4:36:55 PM
Paul C. there are plenty of facts that you seem to miss in your comments. In terms of this situation if you read the report of what happened you would know that it was a bad mistake by this man who was supposed to contact the proper people. He did not conduct this with proper authority and did not notify Obama or anyone else. So it wasn't about Obama trying to directly terrify people or do things in secrecy. From all reports he was very upset that this happened. Now that the investigation is done this man has stepped down which is the right thing to do. Unlike Bush who praised "Browny" for doing a "heckava job" at the disaster that was Katrina. In comparison I think this mistake was dealt with properly.
Also, as someone who was in NYC during 9/11 and had to deal with the horror of that day I know first hand how this feels. So you can't play that with me.
And one eye roll does not compare to your continued ignorance.
Posted by: DJ | May 9, 2009 5:25:29 PM
@DJ - I don't blame Obama for the plane incident. Never did. My issue is with people who are quick to dismiss and quelch any talk of any incident with any negative connotation that has any connection to Obama.
Funny that you would compare it to Bush, because his asshole followers were quick to defend every incompetant thing that he and his administration did in just the same way.
I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. Unfortunately people like you don't learn from the past, and are actually emulating the Bush administration and their fascistic attempts to silence discussion or criticism. See how well that works for you.
Posted by: paul c | May 9, 2009 6:32:35 PM
Paul is right - Obama lovers are doing the same thing Bush lovers did. Lets say this fly-over photo-op happened last summer. People would have called for Bush's head. People on both sides will get the respect they feel they deserve when they are able to recognize when their "leader" or their leader's "people" make a mistake.
Posted by: BC | May 10, 2009 12:20:13 AM
Paul C., I don't think Obama is perfect and I do have issues with him. I also never said he couldn't be criti. I don't have a problem with criticism of Obama and I do think he needs to be held accountable. But I also think that people need to take some action on their own to help that. They need to call their representatives, the white house, etc. I hear a lot of complaining here but it isn't all up to Obama and whining about him all the time doesn't accomplish much.
Posted by: DJ | May 10, 2009 12:30:24 AM
In the attached video I am surprised at the mass panic by the people in that park (or wherever they were). It is disappointing that the authorities who were informed of this event didn't inform the people in the city which would have made for far less of a ruckus.
Posted by: Christian | May 10, 2009 8:17:50 AM