As President Obama and the mainstream media mark his 100th day in office the White House is being dogged by the controversy generated by a photo op of Air Force One flying over New York City on Monday.

The operation authorized by Louis Caldera who heads the White House Military Office (WHMO) had the president’s plane fly low over Manhattan followed by two F-16 fighters so that the office could get shots of the plane with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Instead of what Caldera thought was going to be an easy task turned out to be a PR nightmare as frightened workers streamed out of buildings fearing another 9/11 style attack on the city.

Since WHMO wanted to protect the route the planes would take it was a very hush hush operation.  And even though city officials were notified of the plans the message never reached New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who reacted angrily to the PR stunt.

To add insult to injury, besides the frazzled nerves of office workers the Air Force now estimates that the cost of the three-hour trip from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and back was $328,835 including fuel.

Until now WHMO has operated in relative anonymity and is normally run by someone with military experience, hence the word military in the name.  Caldera who did briefly serve as secretary of the Army under Bill Clinton is a Harvard trained lawyer and former California State Assemblyman and not a strategist which would have been helpful along with a dose of common sense in this case.

When Obama appointed Caldera to his post on Dec. 2, he said “I know he’ll bring to the White House the same dedication and integrity that have earned him the highest praise in every post.”

I may be wrong here, but I don’t think Caldera can count on receiving high praise from Obama after this incident.

 

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