The NYT assures us that Obama was “incensed” over yesterday’s incredibly bone-headed idea to buzz the Manhattan skyline with a 747 and several F-16s, momentarily freaking out New Yorkers in a fashion reminiscent of Mohammed Atta. CBS says he was “furious.” He should be, since the orders came right out of the White House, from White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera (and were apparently uninherited from Bush). The Washington Post today wrote that the “White House later issued a profuse apology over the incident.” Really? Is there something I’m missing because this is the only apology I’ve seen, and it came from Caldera himself, in a somewhat understated statement:
It’s amazing what passes for “profuse” apology these days. Gibbs said little about it in yesterday’s press briefing, saying he was “working on other things,” and Obama has yet to address it. One suspects that, had this happened on Bush’s watch, the aggressive genuflection required by the press to qualify as “profuse apology” would have made a Weeble jealous (no matter how good his wobble). Watch the two videos below and decide whether Obama shouldn’t use part of his self-lauding 100 Days Celebration Presser to offer a little more profusion to the people of NYC. He knows well how his mere presence heals souls and calms worries. He has a gift, as he would say. Check out the view around :40 in this one:
And, here’s the view from the ground. Horrifying:
