In article ,
says...
Not only is is "normal", apparently no other sitting president has ever done
a tailhook landing on a carrier. But what fun is there in riding in a
helicopter? What kind of pansy, given the choice to fly in a helicopter of
a jet fighter, opts for helo? FWIW, the Navy said it was more comfortable
with a jet landing as it afforded the opportunity to eject in case of a
problem. Personally, it wouldn't matter either way to me. I'll even
stipulate that it was partly political. Even so, so what? Any president is
a politician, so it's not surprising that some of what they do is political.

Considering the tax payer dollars that go into keeping a president alive
(this was reinforced for me after witnessing Bush's urban assault
caravan scream through Rochester, MN yesterday,) it's ludicrous that any
standing president would travel to an aircraft carrier during time of
war regardless of the means of transport. I don't hold this against
Bush, though - political creatures that they are, I think any president
would have taken advantage of the opportunity. However, I would
stipulate that it was blatantly political - again, a motivation easily
within the comfort zone of any politician.

- Al