Barack Obama has better-than-usual accommodations on his campaign plane. Allison O’Keefe breaks the news on this important scandal for CBS News:
Barack Obama’s new campaign plane is nothing short of grand. Well, for the candidate that is.
Obama’s section of the plane rivals that of any first class. Recently the front cabin of the Boeing 757 was retrofitted to install four individual chairs that resemble La-Z-Boys. They are free-standing and made of plush leather with pockets on the sides. There is also a booth which seats four for a meeting or a meal.
His chair has his name and campaign logo embroidered on the back top — “Obama ’08” on one line and “President” underneath. To one side is a small table stacked with newspapers ready for the candidate’s arrival. The table of the booth is always covered in snacks and cheese and is where Obama spends most of his time during flights meeting with staff and sitting for the occasional interview.
So, he’s into leather? And Lazy? And what kind of cheese is he eating? Probably something French.
“Typically the candidate’s cabin is like business class — roomier and less chaotic than the staff and press areas, but still short of the accoutrements of a pro team’s charter,” says Politico‘s Mike Allen, a frequent campaign flier. After looking at a few photos of Obama’s cabin, Allen quipped, “Air Force One may seem a tad claustrophobic.”
Hah! Good one!
Except that, um, looking at the photos, these look like pretty standard first class seats, albeit with fewer other seats in close proximity. And it is, after all, his plane. It’s not absolutely unreasonable for a candidate who has raised half a gazillion dollars in campaign contributions to splurge on creature comforts in order to arrive at his campaign stops a bit fresher. Indeed, that would seem to be a great advantage.
Indeed, the only thing that struck me as even mildly scandalous about all this is that Obama had the temerity to emblazon his chair with “President.” It’s a wee bit premature for that. But, then, I looked at the photo of said seat:
That looks rather like a campaign bumper sticker. Perhaps it should have a “For” in there but nobody who has seen campaign posters before is likely to conclude that he’s giving himself a promotion.
Story via memeorandum. Photos by CBS/Allison Davis O’Keefe. Annotations mine.
