Heirs of Liberty Press

Obama First 100 Day Blunders

C. Gialluca, Columnist / Contributor

April 28, 2009 – As President Obama gets ready to celebrate his first 100 days in the White House, he finds himself having to apologize for yet another blunder by his staff. Mondays fly by with one of the Boeing 747's use by the Air Force as the Presidential jet Air Force One created a panic in the streets of New York city, and brought back to stark reality the memories of another clear day in 2001 when members from the terrorist group Al Qaeda hijacked and flew 2 jet liners into the towers of the World Trade Center.

"We all ran to the window, and I thought, that's it, we're all dead," said Chris Biancamano, 36, who works at a brokerage in Jersey City. "It brought back all the memories of 9/11. I said, 'I have to get out of here now!' " People fled buildings and poured onto the streets as the back up for Air Force One trailed by a fighter escort flew around the Statue of Liberty and over ground zero at about 1000 feet. The jet flew over the Verrazano Bridge, buzzed Lady Liberty's left ear, continued up the Hudson past Jersey City and then circled back toward Staten Island, federal officials said.

The stunt was reportedly for a photo op as part of a series to get pictures of the plane in front of national landmarks. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the President was “furious” when he heard about the incident. In his apology, President Obama called it a “mistake”, and stated that "It was something we found out about along with all of you. And it will not happen again."

Louis Caldera, the director of the White House military office, took the blame for the incident in a statement Monday. "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said in a statement. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn't know about it, and he later called it "insensitive" to fly so near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies the imagination," Bloomberg said. "Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase it. ... Had I known about it, I would have called them right away and asked them not to."

Federal officials provided few details and wouldn't say why the public and area building security managers weren't notified. They also wouldn't address why someone thought it was a wise decision to send two jets into New York City, all for a few photos with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said "information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media."

The cost to the taxpayers for this stunt is unclear, however earlier this year, officials stated that running Air Force One costs $40,000 per hour.