# Shrub's landing on the aircraft carrier, WTF was the Secret Service thinking???? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567 "2003-05-02T04:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/41 "2003-05-02T16:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\*What bothered me was how some press seemed to make people that GWB PERSONALLY landed the plane on the carrier. > \*\* You mean when the aliens come, Bush _won’t_ be flying at the mothership, Bill Pullman style? Damn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/42 "2003-05-02T16:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I never wished so hard for a rope to fucking snap. At least wish death on the president properly. It’s a fucking _wire_, a very strong one. They only use each wire so many times. If the plane had snapped the wire they probably would have been able to touch and go around. Sorry, US Navy pilots are pretty good, and they have contingencies for most things. ---
**Author:** ![Boxcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Boxcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxcar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/43 "2003-05-02T17:19:05Z")
I was wondering about the Secret Service in other ways. Of course, they are paid to be paranoid about security, but still… They talked him out of an F-18 ride because he wouldn’t have a guard. WTF? Here we are turning some guy loose in a multi-million dollar airplane capable of wiping out a couple of city blocks and we think he might try to – what? assasinate the prez? Eject GW halfway to the carrier? Make him use a barf bag? If we can’t trust these guys not to do that, why do we want to trust them flying around nukes? I would have had to tell the Secret Service to get lost and taken the F-18 ride. Hell, probably would have nixed the chopper and experienced a cat launch to get home, too. ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/44 "2003-05-02T17:26:45Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by sailor \* > [BThe Achile Lauro happened so long ago that it is totally irrelevant._\* I am sure Mrs. Klinghoffer would dissagree. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/45 "2003-05-02T17:29:26Z")
> [@](#): > > **Philster** said: > When he was growing up, should he have said, "No! I demand to be poor! Being rich will be held against me all my life - why I have no idead but it will! > > He was also lazy enough to graduate Harvard and become President of the United States. He could have gone to Vietnam like a man instead of begging his Daddy to get him out the war. He could have shown up like a man when he got assigned to a rich boy division of the National Guard. He got into Harvard with a C average because of his daddy. He became POTUS because of his daddy and a fixed Supreme Court. Let me say this about the “rope snapping” comment before it goes any further. I wasn’t wishing _death_ on Junior, I was wishing _embarrassment_. Like **Beagle** said, the wire snapping alone is probably not going to make the plane crash, they would have just had to make another pass. I just wanted something not to go smoothly that’s all. So cram your “death-wishing” accusations up your fucking asses. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/46 "2003-05-02T17:30:07Z")
I’m sure that appealing to people with mullets was what Bush was thinking- “Hmm… how can I create a photo-op that will appeal to people who have their hair short on the sides AND long in the back?” I’m not sure why [the 300+ suicide bomber vests stored in a school](http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-04-14-suicidevests-missing_x.htm) almost never get mentioned when discussing Iraq’s ties to terrorism, especially by those who bring up the Geneva Convention a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/47 "2003-05-02T17:36:54Z")
Don’t try to weasel out, **Diogenes** - a broken cable would hardly have been embarassing for the president. Re-doing the landing after a sketchy equipment failure would’ve probably made him look better. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/48 "2003-05-02T17:40:40Z")
I’m not trying to weasel out of anything. I just didn’t know that people were ignorant enough to think that a broken wire meant certain death. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/49 "2003-05-02T17:45:27Z")
**Philster and Diogenes** , isn’t Bush a Yale grad? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/50 "2003-05-02T17:49:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\ ***Philster and Diogenes** , isn’t Bush a Yale grad? \*\* Yale as an undergrad, Harvard for an MBA ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/51 "2003-05-02T17:49:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*He could have gone to Vietnam like a man instead of begging his Daddy to get him out the war. \*\* Like Bill Clinton did? Jeez, first the Clinton-haters had me defending a man I didn’t respect with their unjustified attacks. Now the Bush-haters have me doing the same. And there’s so many justifiable attacks to use against both. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Goo_Fee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/52 "2003-05-02T17:57:59Z")
Was W. Bush actually a fighter pilot? Or did he pilot recon or refuel or cargo or something? As for the Landing… it was a photo op and a good one at that. Rove is smart. Bush still not too smart, but sometimes clever. Remember the silly questions around election time? It’s true… Dubya would still be my pick (over Gore) to go fishing with, or have a beer with, but when it comes to foreign (and domestic) policy issues, I’ll take the guy we elected, not the one they selected. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/53 "2003-05-02T18:02:11Z")
Clinton stayed out of the war by virtue of his own academic achievment, he didn’t just use family connections. BC was also opposed to the war. Bush was just fine with _other_ people getting killed as long as it wasn’t him. Anyway, how does BC avoiding service excuse {i]Shrub’s\* cowardice? ---
**Author:** ![keithnmick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@keithnmick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keithnmick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/54 "2003-05-02T18:22:11Z")
Back to the speech - there are some very knowledgeable folks out there who object to both the linking of the Iraq war with the “war on terror” and Bush’s statement that the end of this war means that the tide is turning on the “war on terror” [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle\_east/2996039.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2996039.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/55 "2003-05-02T18:29:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Let me say this about the “rope snapping” comment before it goes any further. I wasn’t wishing death on Junior, I was wishing embarrassment. Like Beagle said, the wire snapping alone is probably not going to make the plane crash, they would have just had to make another pass. I just wanted something not to go smoothly that’s all. So cram your “death-wishing” accusations up your fucking asses. Fair enough. You may remove whichever end of the print-out you are enjoying least. You still made bigotted remarks and embarassed everyone on the Left who even remotely agrees with you, but that’s what we love you for. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/56 "2003-05-02T18:34:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*_Clinton stayed out of the war by virtue of his own academic achievment, he didn’t just use family connections. BC was also opposed to the war. Bush was just fine with other people getting killed as long as it wasn’t him. Anyway, how does BC avoiding service excuse {i]Shrub’s_ cowardice? \*\* “Cowardice”? Strong word there, bucko. Were you eligible for the draft during the Vietnam war? What would you have done? I missed it by a few years, but by few enough that I sure remember being incredibly relieved that it all ended before I had to register. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/57 "2003-05-02T18:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*“Cowardice”? Strong word there, bucko. Were you eligible for the draft during the Vietnam war? What would you have done? I missed it by a few years, but by few enough that I sure remember being incredibly relieved that it all ended before I had to register. \*\* I was born in '66 so I was only a toddler but my father was there. Personally, I would have done whatever iI could to avoid the draft through academic deferments. Failing that I would have hightailed it to Canada. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to go to that war either, though. The cowardice comes in supporting the forced conscription of _others_ to fight a war but not being willing to do so one’s self. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/58 "2003-05-02T18:53:01Z")
> [@](#): > > A-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha. > Pure fucking ignorance in 30 words or less, fucking brilliant. I partially blame OBL for helping to create the USA’s economic downturn by masterminding a multi-BILLION dollar attack on our soil, and you think I’m _ignorant_? Gee, I guess the airline industry and the hotel industry are suffering so much because…George Bush stole the election? And, of course had the 9/11 attacks and Enron and Worldcom happened under Bill Clinton, our economy wouldn’t be suffering right now. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > The hole in the ozone layer is OBL’s fault too. No, actually that would be the fault of the people who use fossil fuel as an energy source. That would be you and me, bucko. And until we decide to take a hit in the wallet to find and create an infrastructure for an alternative energy source, WE will continue to damage our environment. See how easy it is to be rational? Try it sometime. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/59 "2003-05-02T19:11:10Z")
I was going to leave this alone, **DtC** , as I generally don’t find political debates with idealogues of any stripe a fruitful endeavor, but what the heck: [http://www.1stcavmedic.com/bill-clinton-draft.htm](http://www.1stcavmedic.com/bill-clinton-draft.htm) outlines how Clinton went avoided the draft. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to 10.5 year old Washington Post articles to confirm the story. However, my search did not turn up anything rebutting the allegations on the first 2 pages, but maybe Yahoo!'s new search engine is right-wing biased. You followed up with this: > [@](#): > > The cowardice comes in supporting the forced conscription of others to fight a war but not being willing to do so one’s self. Are you saying that a ~22 y.o. Bush supported the draft? Or are you saying that 30 years later (and hopefully a little maturity, but it may be pushing to far to get you to acknowledge that) President Bush _might_ consider a draft if there is a need? Enquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/60 "2003-05-02T19:20:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payton’s Servant \* > \*\*Talk about grandstanding and showboating. If Clinton had done this, the press would have crucified him, \*\* Hey, don’t cut Clinton off so short. He did some pretty daring things in a plane while in office. Like blocking the runway at LAX for a “haircut”. Now THAT takes courage! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567.md?page=4)