OK, just to note: NYPD knew about the flight... why weren't THEY out warning the Mayor, etc....???? or talking to the press say, 10 minutes prior to flight, etc.? Is an empty AF1 really that important a target that we have to do photo ops in complete secrecy? No, as much as I would like to fault Obama on this, I agree he has a right to be furious about this one => his people warned NY and NJ, yet no one there chose to warn anyone.
BUT NOTE: I don't think we do the conservative / right / republican cause any good if we press on something like this, when there is too much evidence to say that it really was not his fault this time... just makes us look like a bunch of 'rabble-rousing' RWE's adding to their list of 'birth certificate evidence' and 'muslim in disguise' conspiracy theories. You want the conservative movement to be relegated to being just a "fringe group" this is a quick and easy way to do it. Might as well go out in public with the tinfoil hats...
This is a time to pick our battles. Stick with easy-to-understand principals. Small government, reduced spending, deficit reduction - and how Obama's choices over the last 100 (or so) days have been in the exact opposite direction. This is going to be the only way to bring in the numbers of moderates needed to swing the votes our way. Show them how small government, reduced taxes and personal freedoms benefit them more than increased socialized programs and the resulting tax increases to cover the cost of the programs ever will.
The last tea party was a great example of this. There were many different people, of different social backgrounds coming together, not over social issues, such as abortion, gay rights, and the like... but over fiscal responsibility. There were very few 'bash obama, pelosi, et al' signs floating around - and the paper now has nothing to use to mock the tea party protest with, except for some humorous signs such as the 'what next, tax on farts?'. Heck, it took them a week to find ANY signs anywhere, before they found the one 'anti-semitic' sign ONLINE, not even at a tea party itself... which quickly faded from the public eye once it was realized that the sign never made it to an actual tea party... We must take the high road, avoid marginalizing ourselves by latching on to ANY story that comes out that might be a blemish on Obama, think over the message it conveys, check facts, then decide: "Is it worth arguing over this?"
***Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.***
Peter Schmugge
http://thebigshmoog.blogspot.com
Some irony: empty AF1 causes a big scare that people were warned about and yet nobody knew about in New York City.
ReplyDeleteAbout two days earlier, two fighter jets and a coast guard plane escorted a twin-engine Cessna out of restricted airspace around Washington, D.C., after this one little 'ol plane with a malfunctioning GPS caused a panic attack which locked down the White House and recessed the Senate. The Secret Service later questioned and scared the heck out of an innocent pilot and his wife. Neither were arrested. Meanwhile, another small airplane nicks protected airspace at the same time and lands before it can be intercepted. To my knowledge, nobody is questioned.
As Marvin Gaye once sang, "Ain't that peculiar."