"The White House Was Lying"

From Tapped:

As The Associated Press' Jennifer Loven reported in her preview piece early on Thursday, drawing on information provided by the White House:

Bush flew from the White House to California on Air Force One. Then, after exchanging his suit and tie for a flight suit and getting briefed on ejection procedures, he was ferried to the ship, hundreds of miles off the California coast, by a tiny Navy plane.

This Washington Times story amplifies that on Saturday, Bush "will depart on the Marine One presidential helicopter because the ship will then be close enough to shore for a brief chopper ride."

But guess what? The White House was lying.

This article, also from The Associated Press, filed slightly later in the day -- probably by an embedded reporter actually on the Lincoln -- notes that the carrier was only 30 miles from San Diego when Bush landed, which means there was no practical reason whatsoever for the White House to have gone to elaborate effort to land him in a jet.

There's a logical explanation here. Bush was certified to pretend to fly a jet, but not to pretend to fly a helicopter.