Bush's Carrier Landing:
Another Big Lie

Who can forget the scene of President Bush being flown onto the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to "welcome home" the ship and its sailors and to congratulate them for "mission accomplished."  Great scene.  Big lie.

Let's start with this Associated Press article.  See how many lies you can pick out.

Quote from the Houston Chronicle web site:

May 2, 2003, 3:43PM

Dramatic carrier landing wasn't really necessary

Associated Press

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN -- President Bush didn't have to make a dramatic tailhook landing on this aircraft carrier. He could have flown here on a helicopter as presidents normally would, the White House said today.

Officials also acknowledged positioning the massive ship to provide the best TV angle for Bush's speech, with the vast sea as his background instead of the very visible San Diego coastline.

Bush's aides were delighted by the saturation television coverage and front-page pictures of Bush's visit Thursday to this ship homebound from the Persian Gulf. Press secretary Ari Fleischer dismissed any suggestion that the overnight trip was custom-ordered to provide campaign footage for Bush's re-election campaign.

"This is not about the president. This is about thanking the men and women who won a war," he said.

Fleischer had said last week that Bush would have to fly out to the carrier by plane because the Lincoln would be hundreds of miles offshore, making helicopter travel impractical.

As it turned out, the ship was just 39 miles from the coast when Bush scored a presidential first by landing on the flight deck in a small S-3B Viking jet that was snared by a restraining wire. He climbed out of the cockpit wearing a flight suit and carrying a helmet under his arm, and was swarmed by crew members. The scene was captured on live television and replayed again and again.

"He could have helicoptered, but the plan was already in place," Fleischer said. "Plus, he wanted to see a landing the way aviators see a landing."

Navy officials said they made minor changes to the Lincoln's route home to accommodate the president. The changes did not keep personnel at sea longer than they otherwise would have been, said John Daniels, a ship spokesman.

In fact, the Abraham Lincoln was scheduled at one time to arrive in San Diego on Saturday, but that was moved up to accommodate Bush's schedule, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Bender. The carrier arrived today.

There was no denying the ship's movements were carefully choreographed to benefit Bush.

Commanders gauged the wind and glided along at precisely that speed so that sea breezes would not blow across the ship during Bush's speech. That could create unwanted noise, Daniels said.

When the wind shifted during the speech, the ship changed course to minimize the breeze, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Terrance Rice.

The camera angle also was arranged by the White House to ensure it did not show the nearby coastline. A huge banner reading "Mission Accomplished" was strung along the bridge and loomed behind Bush.

The Navy sent all but a couple of fighter jets off the plane Wednesday and Thursday. Those left behind were left on the flight deck as props for Bush's speech.

The 1,100-foot-long carrier steamed near the San Diego coast all night to come in at its appointed time this morning.

End quote

What a pile of crap

Let's review some of the lies in the Bush carrier visit.

• Fleischer had said last week that Bush would have to fly out to the carrier by plane because the Lincoln would be hundreds of miles offshore, making helicopter travel impractical.   Lie. In fact, the carrier was 39 miles offshore, easily within helicopter range -- in fact, when Bush flies from the White House to Camp David, he flies by helicopter more than 39 miles.
• The camera angle also was arranged by the White House to ensure it did not show the nearby coastline. Lie.  Because the White House had already lied in claiming that the carrier was too far out to sea for helicopters, they could not let the TV audience see that the California coastline was in plain view.
• The Navy sent all but a couple of fighter jets off the plane Wednesday and Thursday. Those left behind were left on the flight deck as props for Bush's speech.

And -- what about this --

Bush was not on the carrier alone.  There were approximately 15 White House staff members on the carrier.  How did they get on the carrier? They certainly did not fly in on a small aircraft as Bush did -- and they were there before him.

How did Bush and his retinue get off the carrier back to shore?

The answer to these two questions is the same -- by helicopter.   Bush's aides had already helicoptered to the carrier before he arrived and the helicopters were stashed below the carrier deck in the aircraft hangars.  After his photo-op, the helicopters were brought on deck, Bush and his crowd boarded the helicopters, and flew back to California.  So much for the lie about the carrier being so far offshore that helicopters could not be used -- helicopters WERE used.

Finally, let's not forget - -

- - - the "mission accomplished" banner.  Of course, we all remember the firestorm that was kicked up in November over the authorship of the banner hanging on the carrier saying "mission accomplished."  First, the White House claimed the Navy did it.  But the Navy claimed the White House ordered it.  And the whole discussion degenerated into another round of Bush lies.  But that's the topic for another article.

Conclusion

Bush was a passenger in an aircraft that was flown onto a carrier by a Navy aviator.  He climbed out of the aircraft and strutted around the flight deck like some kind of "top gun."  His visit to troops coming home is a great thing to do -- why did he need to cheapen the moment by constructing a huge lie?

George W. Bush is a liar.