Refusing To Sully The Everyday Hero?

In relation to Bush – Sullenberger testified yesterday before a committee on airline safety. He’s a union man. Made me wonder how Bush would’ve turned that.

A very good speech, on that there can be no doubt. But I think you are seeing with bag-covered glasses here. The one flaw in the speech … the one return to the world of Bush … was the use of Bethea. That was quintessential Bush (even if it didn’t include a reference to 9/11), and the speech would have been truly distinct if he could have avoided that convention in its entirety. Maybe he couldn’t … maybe the convention is so strong that it demands such a gesture. But if so, then this is as much a marker of how difficult his task will be– how hard it will be to overcome institutional assumptions and conventions at every turn.

The speech was full of props…
Why should one “prop” be better than another? That depends on the listener and on the values – appreciation of the skill to save people? hmmm or theatrics?
What was missing or hidden under the rug? The details, the details about the end of the occupation of Iraq, the closure of Guantanamo, the agreement with Bush on the detainees not having constitutional rights in Afghanistan and who knows where else, maybe next in Pakistan, increasing the military numbers in Afghanistan,…
But props were great and rewarded by standing up and applause of the full house of politicians.
What was left out? The universal health care, well that would not get much of an applause…

I think it was terrible the President didn’t acknowledge Capt. Sullenberger. Saving 155 lives vs. saying “don’t quit” I think I would take the former even though this young lady is commendable. The President also acknowledged the military of which Capt. Sullenberger is a former Air Force pilot. The plane crash happened at the same time as O’Bama’s rise to power and I wonder if his people worried about competition. The President has only recognized Sullenberger in private which to me is insulting to someone who is neither a “prop” nor a politician. He is truly an inspiration and should have been treated as such.

Our president’s name is Obama – no apostrophe. Work on that along with your thinly veiled indignation, troll.

Speaking of Sully, I laughed when I saw the photo accompanying this NYT story on House testimony of the air traffic controller who helped put that plane safely in the Hudson.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/nyregion/25crash.html?scp=2&sq=sullenberger&st=cse
What is going on here? Are these pilots literally larger than life now? Either that or the air traffic controllers are dwarves.

I thought Obama should have acknowledged Sully for two reasons. First, all reporting seems to indicate that it was extreme training and preparedness that set the stage for safely ditching the plane — even down to the details of trying to land by boats. Second, as Kitt notes, Sully is a union guy. As were the tug pilots and, according to what I’ve read, damn near everyone involved in getting people to safety. Everyone had practiced to deal with this kind of thing. Generic planning and preparedness for problems in the river and specific plans as well — all came together in minutes to dramatically save lives. Obama could have used Sully as a door into the need for foresight and planning and a positive role for unions; using the story as a transition into a larger conversation about the need for investment now to deal with problems when they happen, to head of real catastrophe, could have placed this story of the moment into a more meaningful context about the need for planning and investment across the board on a host of topics (and it might have been a nice counter to the anti-planning attempted slam against ‘volcano monitoring’ that followed Obama’s speech). That would exploit Sully as a prop, but would not be used solely to elevate Obama or make us feel good about the nation.

There is nothing thinly veiled here. I am a democrat who has worked in the party for years and voted for President Obama. The young girl was outstanding and needed recognition for her incredible citizenship. That was not my point and I put it as one or another and I shouldl’t have. I do think it was insulting to invite the pilot and his crew and not recognize them in prime time. I fly constantly and don’t think these people who have our lives in their hands are appreciated the way they should be. I do wonder why the President has done all this recognition behind the scenes. That is just my point. With all the “celebrity” that is out there that doesn’t deserve it I think this man is deserving of it considering the “miracle” he achieved. I think the fact that very few congressmen showed for the hearling for these pilots was insulting too. I hope what they said about finding good pilots doesn’t come true and all these millions of people suffer for it. I try to put lives in context of celebrity. Thank you. Also I am a professional writer so excuse my literary mistake.

Okay I just sent this note with more spelling mistakes. Should have checked myself. LOL Obama was spelled with as a S to indicate ownship.