It Wasn't Me

On Monday a 747 airplane with two U.S. fighter jets in hot pursuit flew alarmingly low over Manhattan. The incident incited pandemonium, as buildings were evacuated, numerous 911 calls were made, and New Yorkers panicked in the belief that an all too familiar type of terrorist attack was underway. However, the plane flew low enough for some New Yorkers to see the Presidential seal on the side of the menacing jet. By now just about anyone who has any access to the news media knows that the ordeal, which brought back images of September 11th 2001 to frightened New Yorkers, was simply a poorly planned and insensitive attempt to take publicity photographs of Air Force One with the statue of liberty (Which apparently neither the President nor the Mayor of New York knew anything about). Or was it that simple?
The mainstream news media has pretty much eaten up the explanations for the incident provided by the White House and Michael Bloomberg without question. Critics outside of the mainstream media have begun to question the assertions that have been so easily accepted by major news outlets. The blame so far has been placed solely upon White House Military official Louis Caldera for approving the flight, and New York City Hall official Mark Mugnos for failing to alert Mayor Bloomberg. The mainstream media has accepted the notion that these two officials alone are to blame for this debacle, but bloggers, and of course right wing nuts without muzzles like our old friend Rush Limbaugh, haven’t been as willing to swallow the idea that the President was completely in the dark about where his airplane was Monday, or that Mayor Bloomberg had no idea that Air Force One would be circling ground zero for a few glamour shots.
Not surprisingly, Limbaugh (who has gleefully adopted the name, “scare force one”, which was first coined by the New York Post for the incident) has had a field day in the aftermath of the flyover. Unfortunately, while I disagree with the way he goes about saying it as well as his insistence that George Bush would have taken responsibility for an action like this if he were he still in office; I have to say that I agree with a lot of what Limbaugh and other non-mainstream news sources are beginning to point out. The idea that air force one took a 329,000 dollar flight over Manhattan without either the president or the mayor of New York knowing anything about it in advance in ludicrous. That the American people are supposed to believe two officials set the whole thing up by themselves without their superiors’ knowledge is an insult to our intelligence. Even the mainstream news networks that are reporting that the FAA and other agencies knew about the flight and kept it quiet for security purposes are still parroting the White House/City Hall line that the President and Michael Bloomberg are enraged and are in the process of reprimanding the officials responsible for this. What a joke. If I did believe that Barack Obama didn’t have any idea about the whereabouts of his plane on Monday (which I don’t) that wouldn’t really make me feel any better about the situation because there is no reason he shouldn’t.
The fact that he and Mayor Bloomberg are willing to let a couple of patsy’s shoulder the blame for them either knowing nothing about an idiotic and unnecessary publicity stunt, or screwing up and lying about it, is unsettling to me as a New Yorker and an American. Furthermore, why are 329,000 dollars in American taxes being devoted to something as unnecessary as new pictures of the President’s plane for the White House website during a recession? The major news media’s complete acceptance of the White House’s explanation and subsequent hollow apology make me wonder how far our new president can ride on his celebrity status without being challenged for a misstep.

John McCain is a boxing fan/civil rights activist.

Jack Johnson was an African American boxer most notable for thrashing an older, more experienced white champion to become the first ever African American Heavyweight boxing champion. John McCain is an older white politician best known for being thrashed in the last presidential election by a less experienced black politician who in turn became the first ever African American president. It would appear the connection between the two ends with this coincidence, but appearances can be deceiving.

Despite the dire situation of the economy McCain seems to feel that his second attempt since 2005 at getting a posthumous presidential pardon for a nearly century old jail sentence Johnson served is a more pressing matter. The story goes back to 1913 when Johnson was arguably the most controversial figure in American sports. Johnson’s antics both inside and outside of the ring enraged much of white America, and they included having open romantic relationships with white women. Because of one such relationship, Johnson was found in violation of the Mann Act. Also known as the white slave traffic act, the Mann Act was a law put in place in an effort to curtail the trafficking of white females across state lines for the purpose of “prostitution, debauchery, or other immoral purposes.”In 1913 Johnson was found in violation of the Act when he crossed state lines with Lucille Cameron, who later became his wife. Johnson fled the country but would later return and face his sentence of 10 months in prison.

Here’s where our buddy Johnny Mac comes in. In 2005 (hint, perhaps he was looking towards the black vote in a future election) John decided to forget his record concerning the recognition of African American historical figures (which includes voting against making Martin Luther King Day a national holiday when BOTH Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich joined a majority of Republicans in voting yes-impressive John) and make it a personal crusade to get a pardon for Johnson from the Bush administration. Joined by fellow Republican senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Stevens and Democratic senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Harry Reid as well as Johnson documentarian Ken Burns, McCain was unsuccessful in scoring a pardon from Bush. The nail in the coffin came when Burns was allegedly told that a Johnson pardon “ain’t gonna fly” in a phone conversation with Bush advisor Karl Rove.

McCain is now trumpeting the initiative (which was defeated again last year) under the banner that a pardon by Barack Obama would be all the more symbolic. He and his compatriates in the initiative have issued various press releases and the story has been covered, albeit lightly, by many major newspapers and websites and has gained significant attention in the blogosphere. It appears to me that McCain is simply looking to build bridges with the black community and embrace the historical nature of Obama's presidency by linking him to a cause like this. After a campaign where he came off (at least in my opinion) as bitter and disrespectful of Obama until his concession speech it is no wonder McCain wants to paint a picture of himself as a civil rights activist in the media. Never mind that John McCain obviously picks and chooses when, where, and which African American figures he wants to support, now is just not the time to worry about something this trivial. I am sure Jack Johnson would agree that given the current economic situation he can wait for a pardon while John McCain focuses on the economy and his work in the senate GIVEN THAT HE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR 62 YEARS! Just as I’m sure that Johnson, who was famous for punishing the white supremacists he often met in the ring, would be less than amused with McCain playing the role of his knight in shining armor if he had seen this. Posthumous presidential pardons are uncommon and I doubt that President Obama will be devoting much time to this particular case given the scrutiny he is under concerning the economy. As a boxing fan I hope one day Jack Johnson does receive justice, and as a United States citizen I hope John McCain does something productive relevant to his job, though I doubt either will happen anytime soon.