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Peace and Political Status at 39,000 Feet October 29, 2002 By ELISABETH BUMILLER WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 - Before President Bush boards Air Force One, his staff makes sure that the jumbo jet's televisions are tuned to ESPN or anything other than the relentless bleat of cable news. Otherwise, Mr. Bush might spot an offending CNN or Fox news crawl and demand, as he has in the past, "Who turned that on?" Sometimes the staff will have a videotape of a Texas Rangers game for Mr. Bush, but other times he will unwind by watching one of the military-themed movies he has relished since Sept. 11. On every flight there are always baskets of candy bars, fresh fruit and a sense of sanctuary. These days, Mr. Bush's flying cocoon also includes clutches of Congressional candidates in the V.I.P. section toward the back, many in fervid anticipation of the political splash that they will make on the tarmac back home. Former Representative Matt Salmon, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, went so far as to drive two and a half hours to Flagstaff from Phoenix not long ago just so he could return immediately to his starting point aboard Air Force One. The drive was a small price, Mr. Salmon explained, for the television pictures of him and Mr. Bush emerging from the door of the most famous plane in the world. "I would have crawled on broken glass," Mr. Salmon said. In the second Bush White House, Air Force One has become both a crucial presidential retreat and a potent political tool. Every president since John F. Kennedy has had a love affair with the jet's luxuries and ability to attract votes, but under Mr. Bush its lure has increased. The change dates to Sept. 11, 2001, when Air Force One became the fortress-jet, carrying the president on a secret zigzag odyssey across the United States. If the flight projected an image that day of a commander-in-chief in retreat, it also fed the legend of one of the great icons of the American presidency. Mr. Bush's use of his Boeing 747's (he has two) offers a revealing glimpse into his personality, and also the midterm election tactics of the White House. Last week, with the president in a flight jacket embroidered with "George W. Bush," Air Force One ferried Mark Sanford and Lindsay Graham, the Republican candidates for governor and Senate in South Carolina, to an airport rally in Columbia, then hauled Alabama's Republican candidate for governor, Bob Riley, to an election appearance with Mr. Bush in Auburn. Mr. Bush schmoozed with them all while aloft, but also retreated to his office, decorated like an expensive hotel suite with thick carpeting and earth tones, for work and down time. Today, while en route to another campaign rally in Denver, Mr. Bush made congratulatory phone calls from the office to Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys for breaking the N.F.L.'s rushing record, and to Jackie Autry, the widow of the founder of the Anaheim Angels, for the team's World Series victory. For midterm candidates who have never before run for office, a ride on the plane goes a long way toward eliminating what political consultants call the "stature gap" by showcasing access to the inner court. "When you drop into your speech, `When I flew back with President Bush on Air Force One, and he said to me,' everything else you say after that is 3000 percent more important," said Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster. Bob Beauprez, a first-time Republican Congressional candidate in Colorado, was so eager to be seen landing in his suburban Denver district on Air Force One that he flew from Denver to Waco, Tex., near Mr. Bush's ranch, stayed in a hotel overnight, then met up early the next morning with the president for the return trip. By lunchtime back in Denver, Mr. Beauprez had his prize: a tableau of him and Mr. Bush walking together down the plane's stairs broadcast live on local television. "It was a pretty powerful political opportunity," grumbled Mr. Beauprez's Democratic opponent, Mike Feeley, who said that Mr. Beauprez never seemed to stop talking about his 45 minutes of glory at 39,000 feet. The plane is also used with an eye toward 2004, as Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, makes sure it is dramatically parked on the runways of key electoral prizes. "Believe me, Karl is not putting Air Force One in a whole lot of solidly Republican or Democratic states," said Paul Begala, a former Clinton political aide who said he did exactly the same thing. "He's putting it in swing states." Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly, going to Casablanca in 1943 to meet with Winston Churchill and plan Allied war strategy. Under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the presidential plane, then called Columbine II, first got the call sign "Air Force One," now used for any aircraft carrying the president. (Mr. Bush flies on smaller planes, which are automatically designated Air Force One, when he has to land at smaller airports; the Air Force One carrying Richard M. Nixon back to California in August 1974 changed its call sign to SAM 27000, the plane's regular designation, above Missouri, just as Gerald R. Ford finished the oath of office.) Kennedy is considered the pioneer of the political use of Air Force One, instantly recognizing the magic the presidential plane would have in the jet age. Jacqueline Kennedy commissioned Raymond Loewy, the industrial designer who also designed the Coca-Cola bottle, to create the plane's lapis and powder blue paint scheme. Aides say that Mr. Bush looks forward to the privacy of the plane, and while he chats up the staff, he needs more time alone than did Mr. Clinton, who would prowl the aisles in the middle of the night looking for someone awake to talk to. "That's one thing that presidents value on Air Force One: time to themselves," said Ken Walsh, a veteran White House correspondent for U.S. New & World Report who has just finished a book, "Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes," to be published next spring. "They can rarely get it in the White House. They find this refuge just invaluable." Aides rarely venture into Mr. Bush's cabin, a private suite in the nose of the jet with a shower and two day beds, where Mr. Bush sleeps, changes clothes and spends time with his wife. On domestic trips, Mr. Bush is usually in his office reading briefing papers and upcoming speeches, often accompanied by Mr. Rove or Andrew H. Card Jr., the chief of staff. Other top advisers are in four seats for the senior staff a little farther back in the plane. Behind them is seating for less senior staff. Farther back are the V.I.P. guests, then the Secret Service, then the news media in the very rear of the plane. On overseas trips, Mr. Bush carefully follows recommendations from White House doctors on when to exercise, when to nap and when to stay awake, all in an effort to beat back jet lag. On those trips, he runs on a treadmill brought into the plane's conference room. Mr. Bush's ride begins quickly because the plane begins barreling down the runway almost the minute the president steps aboard, then climbs quickly to whatever altitude the pilots desire. Air Force One takes precedence over all other planes in the sky, except for those in distress, meaning that it never wastes time circling airports. The food on Air Force One, prepared by military stewards, will never win any culinary or dietary awards, although Mr. Bush seems to like it. Last June, on a day when Mr. Bush was in Florida promoting fitness, the official Air Force One lunch, printed on gold-edged menu cards for every passenger, consisted of a corned beef sandwich, steak fries and strawberry cheesecake. Mr. Bush ordered off the menu that day, choosing an egg salad sandwich on toast, one of his favorite foods aboard the plane. Rick Renzi, a first-time Congressional candidate in Arizona, sampled the Oriental chicken salad when he flew on Air Force One with Mr. Bush to Mr. Renzi's hometown, Flagstaff, last month. "It was surreal," Mr. Renzi said, excitedly recalling the reaction of voters as he stepped off the plane. "It felt like, selfishly, I was allowed to give a gift to my hometown." Mr. Renzi got plenty of face time aboard with Mr. Bush, who told him that one of the presidential dogs had just caught an armadillo at the ranch in Texas. Mr. Renzi also got plenty of television air time in an Air Force One wave shot with Mr. Bush, which the local stations helpfully played over and over. And, not least, Mr. Renzi got an Air Force One souvenir. "They gave me a toothbrush afterward," he said. "Which I kept." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/29/politics/29PLAN.html?ex=1036923781&ei=1&en=00285e9969320d78 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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