Remember the Air Force One fly over of New York City that caused such a ruckus a few weeks back? Well, don”t hold your breath waiting for those stunning photos of Air Force One against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty to be released any time soon. The Publicist in Chief has decided that the pictures are now classified and will not be released to the public.
Questions abound in my mind. The obvious thought is that the President is embarrassed by the monumental stupidity of the stunt and does not want the decision to fly an airliner low over New York City in the post-9/11 world to be rehashed in the media. That makes some sense, but I would argue that the damage has been done and the taxpayers deserve to see the photos that were taken at their expense.
Theories disputing the White House’s official stance are all over the Internet. Most center around the occupants of the plane. Are there photos showing just who was aboard Air Force One? Are there people whose presence in the photos would cause a stir among the populace? I’m guessing – and this is just a guess – no.
For one thing, the purported purpose of the flight was to get photos of Air Force One passing by the Statue of Liberty. Those pictures would, by necessity, have to be taken from a vantage point outside of the aircraft. The roll of film containing the fly over pics logically wouldn’t contain pictures of the occupants of the plane.
But even if you don’t buy that argument, who could be on the plane that the Obama Administration wouldn’t want you to know about? Given the administration’s generally disdainful attitude toward public inquiry, it seems more likely they’d say “Yeah, thirty ACORN ‘community organizers’ were on the plane, but we want to stay on message and talk about my healthcare plan.” Why would the executive branch pick this one time to abruptly shift from surly to sneaky?
I’m not buying the rumors. In this particular instance, I am firmly on the side of the President and his official story. We can’t see the pictures because President Obama doesn’t want us to. End of story… until someone sues under the Freedom of Information Act.
