mangeorge:
I did not exaggerate.
You posted something as though it’s a fact. I asked for you to prove it’s a fact. You then posted “oath of office” as a query in response. It is incumbent on you to prove what you purport to be a fact. Since your assertion is invalid (that’s because you apparently repeated something someone mistakenly told you back in high school), there is no proof. I’ll help you out here: find a law that dictates that the president’s life is not his own.
2)You’re not listening.
“The prez isn’t allowed to risk his life. As long as he’s in office it isn’t his life to risk.”
As I said, it’s obvious that the prez has no right to expose himself to danger when his death would subject the country to great difficulty.
No law implied or needed. It’s his duty. I really don’t understand the confusion.
Bush’s handlers allowed the landing by jet because there wasn’t much real danger. And it was a PR coup.
I’m listening, mangeorge. You’re not doing much else other than babbling, though. Again you assert something as though it’s a fact. Now I ask you, again, to post something that proves it’s a fact. I also expect proof that his “handlers” control his every movement.
Also, I did not exaggerate. The conditions of an aircraft carrier landing are exactly as I described them: unstable platform (because it’s on the water), small landing area (there’s other stuff on that deck), dangerous (yes, it is because there’s a very small margin of error).
I never said his handlers control his every movement.
His duty, his job, preclude him from risking his life. Just as they preclude him from doing a lot of other things. Declaring victory in Iraq, for example. Or wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans to a state dinner. Or growing a beard.
He serves his term as president. The job, by most accounts, is a sacrifice.
Oh come on. Dangerous?
Under less than ideal conditions landing on a carrier is indeed dangerous. Very dangerous. Bush’s landing was under ideal conditions. Not really dangerous. If it had been really dangerous he wouldn’t have done it.
Which partially answers (again) the OP’s question.
This is getting old. The nits have all been picked. I’m done with it.
Well, now I’m curious, too. Isn’t there some kind of thing somewhere that says the President isn’t allowed to take up dangerous hobbies like bungee jumping or hanggliding or stock car racing or steeplechasing or flying a private plane while he’s in office? I have the same sort of Cold War era factoids on this subject drifting around in my head that Mangeorge does. “The Fearless Leader must not put his life at risk, because we need him in case the Evil Godless Russkies ever push the Big Red Button…”
Not too long ago, Iraq held national elections. SH got 99% of the popular vote.
Well, really, anyone who makes it to PotUS is supposed to be a mature adult who understands the magnitude and gravity of the situation (…I know, I know, the last two guys have been dubious on that at times), and who pays proper attention to advice, but it’s still his call.
Anyway, in the case of an arrested carrier landing, under perfect weather conditions, knowing that the plane, the arresting gear and the approach-guidance system have surely been worked over like nothing else in the Navy and that the Lincoln’s best, hottest-performing recovery crew would be on the job, it was probably just within the “reasonable risk” envelope.
BTW, had anything about the flight/approach ops been the slightest bit questionable at any point, I’m pretty sure the wave-off would have happened a mile away.
As to x-treme thrill recreations, I dunno if it would be objected to so much for risk, as for being “unpresidential”. Crashing in a military plane while on the way to rally the boys could at least be spun as Commander-in-Chief-ish, for eulogy purposes. Jumping off a bridge tied to a rubber band that snaps, well…
Continuously repeating your assertion as though you’re shouting “neener neener neener” with your fingers in your ears is not proving it, mangeorge. You’ve asserted something as though it is a fact. I ask for you to display a statute, a law, that defines that to be a fact. You’ve failed to do that. The president is not a slave; therefore, his life is his.
“The president is not a slave; therefore, his life is his.”
:rolleyes:
Well, mangeorge, this time I have the Constitution of the United States (complete with amendments) to back me up on this. This country outlawed slavery long ago.
How many threads will Peyton’s Servant open on this subject before he gets the answer he seeks??
Sheesh…
I want both of you to agree to shake hands and (if there’s any charismatic spark of emotion involved) give each other a hug and make up.
now play nice please
How did the president leave the carrier? I never heard, and I’m assuming from some of the comments here that he did not catapult off and fly back in the same jet?
Okay. The original General Question of this thread has been answered, so I’ll close this thread. If anyone wants to start a factual thread here in GQ about whether there is a law prohibiting the President from risking his own life, be my guest. Debates about whether the President has a moral obligation not to risk his own life belong in GD.
bibliophage
moderator GQ