Got this e-mail from a Naval officer friend, commenting on the Commander-in-Chief’s controversial (among Democrats and the media) visit to the aircraft carrier:

The Dems are claiming that Bush could have taken a helo out, and arrived in a helo; but instead arrived in an S-3. Here’s the real story. This all happened at my base, and I meet regularly with the Skipper and the PAO. When this was first floated, the Lincoln was going to be outside helo range, and the only way to get out where was in the S-3 Viking. What no one counted on was the skipper of the Lincoln racing to shore at 35 knots, thus making a helo approach possible. By then, the plan was already too far advanced to change, and I’m not sure W. would have wanted to. He wore a flight suit? He’d be stupid not to. It would be against regulations. Besides, Navy folk like it when you look like them. It doesn’t matter whether you are a chaplain or the Commander-in-Chief. You wear their uniform, you give them respect by what you wear. That’s why even chaplains wear uniforms. Dems, particularly Senator Byrd, don’t have a clue about this. Then there was the NYT hysteria about the pilot catching the 4th arresting cable. The 4th???!!! Why, the pilot almost missed and they would have plunged into the sea. What the NYT didn’t realise is that there are 4 arresting cables, and they are numbered in reverse order. The 4th cable is actually the first one. I hate it when journalists don’t know what they’re talking about.