Obama taking first Air Force One trip as president

WASHINGTON — Climbing onto Air Force One for the first time since taking office, President Barack Obama is showing his determination to push an economic rescue package through Congress.

The trip Thursday to a House Democrats' retreat in Williamsburg, Va., is a telling choice for Obama's first trip outside the Washington area.

"He's saying that he's willing to go anywhere and talk to anybody in order to get a recovery and reinvestment plan that moves this economy forward," press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

**Read about Obama's first Air Force One trip as President-elect...and how he ordered his cheeseburger.**

For the short flight, Obama won't ride on the big 747 but one of the smaller jets that fill out the presidential fleet. Air Force One, with its history and distinctive markings, makes a statement _ and seldom more so than on the commander in chief's maiden voyage.

George W. Bush's first flight as president may sound familiar. Two weeks after his swearing-in, and following the bitter 2000 recount battle, he went to a resort near Pittsburgh to talk to skeptical Democratic lawmakers. The subject was his tax cuts.

For Bill Clinton, the first flight was to Detroit for a televised town hall meeting, a format seized on during the 1992 campaign. Calling on the first questioner, Clinton said: "I suspect this is going to be about, well, 'It's the economy, stupid.'"

In 1989, Bush's father, a former Navy pilot, took his first Air Force One trip as president to the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia. Long before his son's notorious "Mission Accomplished" speech, Bush spoke on an aircraft carrier _ about wasteful military spending.

Ronald Reagan, at 69 the oldest man to assume the presidency, took a more leisurely approach. His first out-of-town trip was by helicopter to a restful weekend at Camp David in Maryland. His maiden Air Force One trip was to California _ and a restful weekend at his ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains.

Presidents invariably reveal their personality on board.

The garrulous Clinton would restlessly roam the jet, chatting with aides and reporters or sitting down to play hearts. The younger Bush usually stayed put up front and hardly ever saw the press compartment; aides warned him offhand remarks there could cause trouble.

Comments

[4ablueocean]

12:42 AM on 02/06/2009

Do you think maybe he buzzed Bush's ranch and dropped some stink bombs? :) LOL!

[master09]

12:00 AM on 02/06/2009

It was his first time flying in the plane as president for all of you layman out there it was trip so that he could get a first hand look at what the plan was design to do; so cool your jets republicians..I suggest that you people need to get use to the idea that he is president because the majority of americans voted for him Did you notice that he did not take his family with him ? because it was a WORKING FLIGHT.

[SpendBabySpend]

11:20 PM on 02/05/2009

First we have the corporations using tax payer money for their retreats..now we have the Dems going on retreat and we're paying for that..Man..I want to go on retreat but can't afford it.

[cjk002]

12:23 AM on 02/06/2009

Funny how you didn't say that when the Republicans were at their retreat last week....


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/17/rnc-winter-retreat-brains_n_87114.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/01/palin-stiffs-house-republ_n_162890.html

[fiorastar]

01:26 AM on 02/06/2009

Williamsburg is a puddle jump away from D.C. It's where the Democrats were WORKING!!! Maybe you don't have a job, but in my job we have a "retreat" once a year with the whole department to get away from the every day paperwork and endless phone calls and get some "big picture" work done.

[sheikwil4]

07:34 AM on 02/06/2009

At my job, my boss twice a year, at the beginning and at the end of our fiscal year end, my boss use to invite her entire department to her home for a department meeting. she would cook for the entire department and we would have a meeting from 9am to 3pm, so that we could plan out our year, the goals, expectation, etc. We got so much more work done this way, because we had no phones interrupting, no people interrupting, we didn't have to rush to get our of a conference room because another department had a meeting. So this work a lot better sometimes. My boss figured out that some of us got a whole lot more work done by working from home, so she brought us laptops and when we really had to meet very important deadline, she told us to work from home.

[SpendBabySpend]

11:17 PM on 02/05/2009

My son took his first horsey ride today..what? Who the heckk cares..get over this cutsey stuff will you?

[yearlin]

07:53 AM on 02/06/2009

totally agree

[johnnygoodwud]

10:20 PM on 02/05/2009

to williamsburg,,,,,,,,,,i doubt they shifted out of first gear.

[yearlin]

07:53 AM on 02/06/2009

lol

[ApolloniaCreed]

10:05 PM on 02/05/2009

Who does he think he is "jet-setting" around the country... the President or something? Jeesh... the nerve of the man!!!

[taricaziz]

08:33 PM on 02/05/2009

SULPHUR corrected

[taricaziz]

08:29 PM on 02/05/2009

Is the sulpher smell all gone?

[StopDU]

08:00 PM on 02/05/2009

"I hope they gave the plane a thorough cleaning and fumigation. A good exterminator probably wouldn't hurt"
Lee Ving...... did you mean "Exorcist" ?.

[Halter]

09:27 PM on 02/05/2009

Send some sage for a good smudging.

[apoyo]

07:43 PM on 02/05/2009

Does "The Beast" go with him? (his new ride)

[wendynyc]

07:39 PM on 02/05/2009

Wolf Blitzer was acting cheesy on CNN today while talking about Air Force One and how the President gets to ride on this grand and fancy plane.

However Mr Blitzer seems to forget that Barack Obama was elected by the people of the United States to ride on that plane and I find his remarks very disrespectful!

[AZterritory]

07:51 PM on 02/05/2009

Doubtful that Prez O will spend as much time as ol' W did overflying crises from his cushy sky perch, then back to the bunker.

[ckfan]

07:55 PM on 02/05/2009

That's a man's thing. For some reason they get giddy talking about the Air Force One, Marine One (helicopter) and The Beast (his car).

It's stupid, really

[Okieborn]

07:32 PM on 02/05/2009

WOW !!!
A "Real American President" aboard AF 1 !!!

[VOTER]

08:43 PM on 02/05/2009

You bet!!

[DFL]

07:10 PM on 02/05/2009

Nice to see air force one has "adults" in it again! also I heard they use 2 air force ones and one is a decoy and no one knows which plane Barack is on!

[SoontobeBlueVirginia]

06:35 PM on 02/05/2009

WaHoo Wa! He is landing @ my hometown airport as we speak! GO GET'm O!

We turned this state Blue and we intend to keep it that way.

[ckfan]

06:44 PM on 02/05/2009

I live in N. VA. We shall forever be BLUE.

[ABCD]

06:50 PM on 02/05/2009

Well then! You and SoontobeBlueVA are my kind of people!

[Abrafo]

07:31 PM on 02/05/2009

I'm in NC which turned blue also. NC looks good in blue! yeeh!!

[anopenmind]

07:08 PM on 02/05/2009

The eagle has landed! Let's hope we have a good night tonight and pass the "Recovery Plan"

Funny it's Feb. 5th, Remember "Super Tuesday" last year, that's when President Obama Pulled ahead in Delegates!! WOW! and here we are Now!!

Change is Possible!!

[LeeVing]

06:18 PM on 02/05/2009

I hope they gave the plane a thorough cleaning and fumigation. A good exterminator probably wouldn't hurt.

[reno1190]

11:16 AM on 02/06/2009

YOU DO MEAN AFTER BUSH HUH