White House aide loses job over Manhattan flyover fiasco
May 9th, 2009 - 1:12 pm ICT by ANIWashington, May 9 (ANI): The White House aide who authorized the controversial Air Force One photo-op flight last week around the Statue of Liberty is out of a job.
President Obama has accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, the Daily News learned Friday.
A secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration, Caldera took the fall for the public relations fiasco arising from the April 27 flyover, which was designed to replace a publicity photo of Air Force One flying past Mount Rushmore with a similar shot of Obama’s 747 jumbo jet over the Statue of Liberty.
The photo session cost taxpayers 329,000 dollars.
Caldera’s office insisted the flyover was a “classified” mission and should not be disclosed to the public, ensuring that thousands of New Yorkers would be blindsided by an event eerily reminiscent of the 9/11 terror attacks against the Twin Towers.
Federal officials notified Mayor Bloomberg’s office and NYPD officials in advance, but Bloomberg was not informed, infuriating the mayor.
Caldera shoulders the blame in deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina’s review into how the decision was made to go ahead with the photo mission.
Many White House officials were angry at Caldera over the stunt. Defense Secretary Robert Gates apologized for the flyover in a letter Tuesday to Senator John McCain, who posted the memo on his Senate Web site Friday. (ANI)
- Furious Obama orders probe into New York flyover photo flop - Apr 29, 2009
- White House official says sorry for Air Force One Photo Op in New York - Apr 28, 2009
- Real cost of New York flyover far more than Air Force's total - Apr 30, 2009
- Obama ropes in 3 Indian Americans for re-election campaign - Feb 24, 2012
- Louis Caldera resigns over White House stunt; photo released - May 09, 2009
- Photos of Air Force One's NYC flyover will not be released - May 06, 2009
- Obama campaign reaches out to Indian Americans (Lead) - Feb 24, 2012
- Obama campaign reaches out to Indian Americans - Feb 24, 2012
- White House apologises over Air Force One blunder - Apr 28, 2009
- New York mayor plays golf with holidaying Obama - Aug 28, 2010
- Occupy protesters evicted from New York park - Nov 15, 2011
- Obama visit: Spats with Indian officials over media restrictions - Nov 08, 2010
- New York Governor: Failed car bombing in Times Square is 'an act of terrorism' - May 02, 2010
- Drop 'birther issue', says Mayor Bloomberg to Trump - Apr 25, 2011
- President Obama names director of the White House Military Office - Oct 17, 2009
Tags: 747 jumbo jet, air force one, flyover, jim messina, john mccain, louis caldera, mayor bloomberg, mount rushmore, obama, photo session, public relations fiasco, publicity photo, robert gates, secretary of the army, secretary robert, senate web, senator john mccain, terror attacks, white house chief of staff, white house military office
