"The Turkey Has Landed"

Oh, what I would do for a real press in this country...

From "The Independent""

"The extraordinary mission (no American president has visited a war zone since Richard Nixon flew to Vietnam in 1969) was clearly calculated to burnish Mr Bush's image as he prepares for a re-election campaign that will be overshadowed by violence in Iraq and the rising toll of American casualties. It was spent with 600 soldiers at a turkey and sweet potato dinner in a mess hall at Baghdad airport and lasted a mere two and a half hours. "


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=467982

in the ad bidness, the product package used in
the commercial is called the "hero" because it's
manipulated...colorwise, graphics, etc.

The turkey Bush trotted out was clearly the "hero".
Really not to be eaten but for the final photo op.
I wonder how many other standby turkeys flew on
Air Force One?

.

right after, Desert Storm? The article talked about no prez since Nixon having visited a war zone. . .

I remember the footage of Poppy striding around in a blue shirt and khakis in desert sand, with troops around. Perhaps he was in Kuwait, and maybe it doesn't count as visiting a combat zone, but at least it looked like a foreign country. Junior never left the airport.

<clips>

...The trip was a tightly held secret among only a few aides until the very end. The administration did not announce it until Bush had left Baghdad and even Bush’s parents did not know about his trip beforehand. The president left his ranch in an unmarked car, not the usual presidential limousine and tried to disguise his appearance.

A total of 13 journalists accompanied Bush on the trip. They were instructed not to tell their families or editor where they were going. On the way, White House communications chief Dan Bartlett told reporters that if news of the trip leaked out before Air Force One landed in Iraq, the plane would turn around.

Air traffic controllers in Baghdad did not know the plane heading for the runway was Air Force One. It landed without its lights under cover of darkness.

Bush spent only two and a half hours in the secure area around Baghdad airport where he spent Thanksgiving dinner with some 600 soldiers. He also met with members of the Iraqi Governing Council, including Ahmad Chalabi, the exile leader who is close to senior officials at the Pentagon.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/01/155219

and both Poppy and Big Dog were listed as having gone to visit with/eat with troops