This is an interesting theory about yesterdays fly-by of Manhattan - they were putting together some footage which would be useful to George Lucas' upcoming film about the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII, known as the Red Tails.
Well - this will never be admitted. And the red-tailed photo of the trailing fighter may just be a trick of the light. And Manhattan is a long way from Alabama, so why would it make any sense in the movie (where I assume it would be part of some epilogue saluting the proud legacy of the WWII heroes) to have a Red Tail escorting Air Force One? On the other hand, some cinematic post script linking the current office holder with the men who blazed his trail would not exactly be unheard of as a Hollywood ending. And Manhattan has got to be more visually interesting that the backwoods of Alabama. (Apparently there was also a similar strafing scheduled for Washington DC which has been scrapped.)
But even though we all know the White House and Pentagon will deny it, I wonder if some reporter will ask? They just might - NYC is the media capital of the world. And besides, the Buck Stops Elsewhere; Obama is blameless in this.
Oh, well - WH press flack Robert Gibbs will play both outraged and dumb and the questioning will move on.
Seriously, what other "photo op" except an adventure film could this have been for. And if the theory is right, was it worth scaring New Yorkers? How much did we pay for this Obama promotion--because surely the film will end with him flying victoriously in that plane followed by a fighter plane from Alabama?
Updazte from Rosslyn Smith:
If the Air Force One fly by was done to create a scene for a George Lucas movie, call it another example of the Chicago Way comes to Washington DC.
Back in August 1996 when I was living in a condo on the Chicago lakefront I was jarred awake around midnight by what sounded like several explosions. As I listened more closely I could discern that it was fireworks, probably over Grant Park. Firework displays happen almost weekly along the lakefront in the summer, so the sound becomes quite familiar. But after midnight and on a weeknight? The Democrat National Convention was in town, but still, it was after midnight for Pete's sake! Who were the idiots setting off fireworks at midnight?
I had my answer in the gossip column of the next morning's paper. It seems that JFK, Jr. wanted to end his gala for George magazine being held at the Art Institute of Chicago with a fireworks display, Of course, like all events held in conjunction with a national political convention, the party had to start "after the session" which usually meant 10:45 to 11:00. There were also the countless residential high rise buildings that had sprouted up in recent years within a mile to a mile and a half of the park. But JFK Jr. was ... the head of a directionless magazine who had an important father? Whatever. He was not to be denied no matter what the city noise ordinances and common courtesy might say. Since the Daley administration saw no problem with thousands of taxpayers loosing sleep so members of the political class might be amused, it would come as no surprise to me if it turns out the Daley people staffing the White House didn't think twice over scaring the crap out of a lot of New Yorkers for a campaign ad disguised as the postscript to a movie.
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