White House aide Louis Caldera loses job over Manhattan flyover fiasco involving Air Force One

NY Daily News ^ | 5-8-09 | By Kenneth R. Bazinet

[Joiseydude]

WASHINGTON - The White House aide who authorized the controversial Air Force One photo-op flight last week around the Statue of Liberty is out of a job.

President Obama has accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, the Daily News learned Friday.

A secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration, Caldera took the fall for the public relations fiasco arising from the April 27 flyover, which was designed to replace a publicity photo of Air Force One flying past Mount Rushmore with a similar shot of Obama's 747 jumbo jet over the Statue of Liberty.

Excerpted

[river rat]

Throwing this one corrupt flunky under the bus - isn’t enough..

More than this jerk had to be involved - and there must be more to the story that a “photo shoot”...

One simply doesn’t put the President’s planes in motion without a WHOLE lot of bureaucratic REMFs signing off.

[SteamShovel]

NO PLANE SHADOW ON GROUND IN PICTURE. Sunlight is behind and above the photographer.

AND.....

.....the shot with the Statue of Liberty does not explain buzzing "Ground Zero".

[penelopesire]

Did you see the ‘photo’? LOL..You can barely see the Statue of Liberty. If it’s not fake....they sure had a crappy photographer! We deserve our money back!!

[Gorzaloon]

AND.....

.....the shot with the Statue of Liberty does not explain buzzing "Ground Zero".

And the scenery is not blurred by the jet exhaust.

We have all flown on commercial planes, and in many lighting situations, it is fun to watch the plane's shadow on approach. At 1000 AGL there should be a shadow on a bright hazy day.

(Just being a good sport and letting them hastily open PhotoShop for another pass.) They'll get it right next time.

[mojitojoe]

How much did they pay him? I want to know who was on that plane. There is a BIG cover up going on here. No aide can authorize that.

[penelopesire]

Does anyone know how long his speech was that day? Wonder how we can find out? I still wonder if Obama was on the plane. Or perhaps Joe Biden.

[penelopesire]

That's not the shot that is on Drudge. This is the shot! All of the pictures keep putting the statue closer than the official one. The media playing games?

[TWfromTEXAS]

I'm not sure the President has to approve but you can bet the WH Chief of Staff has to give the OK that it will not be needed.

[penelopesire]

Looks like the NYT has tried to improve on the official photo folks! UNBELIEVABLE!!

[Las Vegas Ron]

I am not a photographer, but how can everything in that picture be in focus both near and far?

[madison10]

It IS a nice looking photo, but should never have been contemplated after 9/11. The whole scheme was carried due arrogance, not ignorance.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

“The wheels on the bus go thump, thump, thump...........”

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Anything to deflect criticism from dear leader dontchaknow

[madison10]

...on another note, how can we be sure the photo was even taken in April of THIS year?

[Las Vegas Ron]

Is that a shadow behind the SOL on the ground behind her?

[Califreak]

>Looks like Air-Force One is making our precious Statue of Liberty look small and insignificant in proportion to the plane!<

Something was bugging me about it, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was.

I think you nailed it.

[Misterioso]

Slash before “s” — /s

[Mr Ramsbotham]

There’s something about this flight that they definitely don’t want to reveal.

[Ainast]

I want to hear the cockpit voice recorder, I wonder what the pilots were talking about while all of this was going on. I’m sure they knew who was on the plane.

[STARWISE]

I'll say .. it stinks. What was the pressing need ? I think it was a fake junket for some of his bigwigs. Here's a well-done photo.