…and on the USS Abraham Lincoln, too!
I anticipate howls of outrage from the usual suspects. 
That Bush wore a flight suit on the carrier was the least of his sins while aboard.
Nice try at stirring the shit, though. Do you suppose the crew put that “Mission Accomplished” banner back up in honor of Rather’s retirement or did the banner go back to the White House with the people who paid for it?
At least Dan doesn’t look like he’s trying to smuggle grapes onto the carrier.
Are flight suits required wear for passengers aboard military aircraft?
Well, by definition, a news anchor is an image-obsessed attention whore, an animal wearing his stripes, so to speak. What about the President?
I don’t know about military aircraft, but they are aboard National Park Service S&R helicopters. In any event, if Rather were posing as the Conquering Hero with a “Mission Accomplished” sign, then, yes, you’d hear howls of outrage from the usual suspect.
No howls of rage here, the Bush and Rather incidents couldn’t be anymore unrelated.
Sometimes. I believe they are required aboard small jets.
I have flown in Navy and Air Force planes without a flight suit on numerous occasions, including a carrier launch. The picture, too, shows that Rather is wearing a flight suit while his crew does not. They are only wearing cranials and life vests.
Methinks the cranials and lifevests are being worn by the folks who were on the boat before the helo landed.
Looks like Rather is wearing a jacket and trousers, as pictured here with a life vest and some odds and ends.
Either that or that’s one hell of a lousy-fitting flight suit.
Considering the right wing’s obsession with Dan Rather’s record on evidence relating to military adventures, I’m surprised that the Washington Times is not claiming that the photo is faked.
I gasp in horror! Anguish! Dismay! Dan Rather, our golden idol, is besmirched! How tawdry he looks in comparison to the Shining One, bold veteran of the Battle of Amarillo, who bravely protected the Alamo from Viet Cong aircraft, when never have so few gotten away with so much for so long…
I am bereft! Alas!
(what?..nah, but what the hell, throw Moto a bone…)
I’m with Mack. If you look closely in the original pic, you can see that the belt goes right across one of the pockets of his safari jacket. And, probably more telling, that his jacket and pants aren’t the same color, like a flight suit would be, but instead are tan and green like in the second picture.
Isn’t Roland (the journalist caricature from Doonesbury) loosely based on Rather? He’s always shown wearing the “journalist in the field” uniform that Rather seems to be wearing in these photos. Cliched? Yes. Worthy of outrage? Yawn
Ha! See, the photo IS a fake! Someone call the Swiftboat Vets!
http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/050103-N-1229B-063.jpg (warning, rather large)
You can see clearly that he’s wearing those zip-off cargo pants that convert to shorts; sans the pockets distinctive of a flight suit.
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=19990
Here he is wearing the same jacket (note the same seam on the shoulder, and the same folds on the cuffs) as he is in the alleged “flight suit” photo. This one shows clearly that the safari jacket is not a flight suit.
Concur. My mistake.
We look forward to more lead balloon OPs from Mr. Moto and his ilk:
“Barbra Streisand lied about Iraqi WMDs”
“Michael Moore says he wants to turn Social Security over to Wall Street fatcats!? Fuck that!”
“Hey Sean Penn! … Found Osama yet?”
Just since nobody has been explicit for Mr. Moto, and regardless of the type of clothing he was wearing:
Dan Rather is not the President of the United States.
Furthermore, a photo op for a retired news anchor will not influence the electorate.
Point 1 is more crucial, however.
Somebody needs to pay for this outrageous misuse of taxpayer dollars. :mad:
Fire Rumsfeld! 