Obama's plane touches wings with another at MDW

I'm sorry, but have we really stooped so low that we consider this news? Inconvenient for the campaign? Maybe. News? I think not.

Stop the presses!

I am glad the Senator and everyone else involved is ok.

It's seems to me that any time there's an incident like this at an airport it gets reported regardless of whether or not the people involved are high profile figures.

Imagine if they had tried to land at Meigs Field instead! This is obviously Daley's fault.

Rico - you are an idiot to assume the pilots are incompetent because of their 'color' which isn't even stated in the article (and rightfully so). Go move to the south or out the country...

I can't believe Hillary would stoop this low...

My only question is: "Is the Senator and his family o.k.? I pray that they are not harmed. He is wonderful young man. I love him and his wife and children. GO OBAMA!!! I'm so proud of you!!!

How STUPID can you get? Hope this shakes him up to spell out what specifics he intends to change. All I hear out of his MOUTH is CHANGE. Change to what?

Rico,
Bottom-feeder RICO.Get a life!

This story works best as metaphor:

"Obama clips Hillary's wings like an empty Cessna 208."

Had it occurred mid-air, now that would be news.

So the pilot of the Cessna 208 is a Republican now?

;-)

Are Ricco and paulo related? Republicans at their finest.

All I hear out of his MOUTH is CHANGE. Change to what?

Posted by: Ray Gorak | January 12, 2008 1:58 PM

It's either for the better....or your diapers.

This is news because in the past two years the frequency of runway and taxiway incursions has increased dramatically. There have been numerous "close calls" and wing clipping incidents, but thankfully everyone usually is unharmed. It is no secret that the vast majority of these incursions and accidents are due to pilot error. The FAA has even released videos for pilots to help avoid runway and taxiway accidents. Perhaps by being informed of all these incidents, the general public can stand up and demand accountability and responsibility of the pilots.

In 2008, the Democrats don?t need to choose the lesser of the evils; this time around, it?s the GOP voters who find themselves in that position. Democrats have a field of qualified, experienced, intelligent, viable candidates, while Republicans are scrambling to determine whose skeletons are least likely to fall out of the closet before the general election.

The Clinton campaign has made a big to-do about Obama?s supposed lack of experience, and his relatively short tenure in Washington, D.C.

Given the corruption that runneth over in the nation?s capitol, I?m not entirely certain that lack of years in Washington is a negative quality. In fact, I think it?s one of Barack?s strongest advantages.

Barack Obama is a candidate that the average American voter can relate to. He wasn?t born into wealth, or a political family, or big business. His mother and grandparents were from Kansas, his father a student from Africa, and he was born in Hawaii, a state known even in the tumultuous 1960s for its tolerance and acceptance of diversity. Like most of us, he went through a phase in which he partied and experimented with drugs, but ultimately his intelligence and drive led him on a path away from temptation and towards great academic success. He was the first African American editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He established himself as a civil rights lawyer, and taught at the University of Chicago. He got elected to the state legislature in Illinois, fighting for health care and welfare reform and an end to racial profiling by law officers. He won his U.S. Senate seat with 70% of the vote and became a household name after his moving speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

He didn?t spend eight years in the White House as the spouse of the President. He?s been in the Senate only four years shorter than Hillary. He didn?t tour the world as Hillary did in her role as First Lady, he lived abroad, in Indonesia. There?s something to be said of experience, the kind of experience that Senators Biden and Dodd have after decades in the Senate. But Hillary?s attacks on Barack?s experience are unfounded, particularly when her own experience is not so involved as she often makes it seem. There is a great deal to be said for real world experience, the kind that Barack had while Hillary?s husband (not Hillary) ran this country from 1992-2000. Indeed, Hillary has served in the Senate a few years more. But Barack has served as an elected official since 1997, and his understanding of the political process is every bit as developed as hers.

Real world vs. Washington experience is why I believe Barack is the best candidate for the Democratic nomination. Hillary has been in the public eye and Washington for 15 years, and with that comes a degree of protection that makes walking down the street impossible. Barack has spent more time, more recently, with everyday people. Before 2004, he was everyday people. His anti-lobbying stance has helped him elude the number of special interest friends and enemies the Clintons and other Washingtonian politicos have made.

I think Barack Obama is the candidate most likely to bring a fresh, untainted perspective to the presidency. We need that, in this day and age where all the friends in high places and experience cannot guarantee our safety from our enemies or a balanced budget. I?m tired of the old establishment. I don?t feel 20+ years of Bush and Clinton presidencies will bring about any significant degree of change in the way the rest of the world views our nation, or peace in the Middle East. If Hillary Clinton is such a foreign policy expert, why have many of Clinton?s advisors decided to lend their support to Barack Obama and not their former boss?s wife?

Hillary?s campaign has taken ugly turn after ugly turn since Obama?s recent surge in the polls, and I?m not a fan of Democrats who focus to much of their attack on their Democratic colleagues in the primaries. The big picture is, can you beat Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, and Fred Thompson? Many feel Hillary has the best chance because of her noteriety across America. I think she is vulnerable to attacks from the GOP that will make the Swift Boat ad look like child?s play.

Republicans HATE the Clintons. They sought to destroy everything the Clintons stood for during Bill?s administration, and they will stop at nothing to destroy Hillary?s chances at the presidency. If she is elected, she will face the same music Bush did, a Congress unwilling to sign blank checks at the president?s bidding. Even if the Democrats maintain a slight majority, it?s clear that a slight majority in Congress, especially if Joe Lieberman is considered part of that majority, is worth little when it comes to controversial legislation.

Barack Obama conducts himself with a calm, collected, level-headed demeanor. He speaks openly and honestly, admitting to past mistakes like his drug use with a frankness Americans aren?t used to hearing from their leaders. He is a deliberate debator, and while many consider the pauses in his speech to be a sign of unpreparedness or stage fright, I believe he is the kind of candidate who likes to think about what he?s saying to you. He?s not spewing talking points hashed by a team of advisors and debate prep staff. He listens, he thinks, and then he talks. He doesn?t have the rapid-fire responses Hillary has, and I believe that helps him avoid damaging missteps in debates and Q&As.

I like that he?s young. I like that he?s new. I like his open-mindedness, his honesty, his sense of humor, his intelligence, his diverse background which has given him an original perspective. I like him, which is a lot more than I can say about many politicians in Washington.

Simply because I?m not supporting Hillary Clinton doesn?t mean I don?t want a woman in the White House someday. But America is at a critical junction, and so much is at stake in this election. I believe now isn?t the time to vote based on gender, race, or religion. It?s time to vote for a change. Out of the entire candidate pool, GOP and Democratic, I feel Obama is the one most likely to bring about change for our nation.

On February 5, 2007, in the Illinois primary, I will proudly cast my vote for Barack Obama, and I encourage each and every one of you to do the same.

P.S. - and as far as foreign policy experience goes I give you the George W. Bush administration as exhibit 1A of it not meaning squat.

It's people like Rico that make this a better place....Thanks alot for playing the reverse race card. Don't move to the south, we have enough biggots down here already!

Slow news day.

Nick,

Stand up and demand accountability from the pilots?? How does this incident relate to runway incursions? They hit a wingtip in the parking area, well away from runways/taxiways. This isn't even newsworthy. Many times during parking the pilots rely upon signals from ground crew to guide them while parking -- should we stand up and demand accountability from them as well? Idiot. Take a Greyhound next time you travel. See how well that goes for you.

Without question the pilots should be fired. I could care less about the color of their skin. Striking a parked aircraft is inexcusable.

Rico does have a point. When you watch WW2 or Vietnam footage you never see black pilots.
But, blacks do excel in football and basketball...do the math.
Paulo

Posted by: Paulo | January 12, 2008 3:05 PM

"Paulo" has one of those terrorist sounding foreigner names.

We'll have to petition President Obama to put him on the no-fly list as to protect ours and other countries from his tard tendencies.

I thought these posts were screened first. The posts by Rico and Paulo are blatantly racist. Is racism not considered to be obscene?

This is outrageous, there is absolutely no excuse for this! Obama campaign needs to scope this out immediately. Was the pilot tired? What was the deal here? This kind of stuff can't be ignored but must be investigated immediately and handled. And I say it again and again, before Obama boards an airplane his staff needs to inquire whether the pilot(s) ever flew for the Clintons, now, before, or ever!!

The story is that Obama's left wing caused damage in Chicago. |-{)

Hey John and Rico. Have you ever heard of the TUSKEGEE AIRMEN? THEY WERE AN ALL-BLACK SQUADRON OF WORLD WAR II PILOTS PROTECTING B-22 BOMBER PLANES FROM NAZI FIGHTER-PILOTS. THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN DID NOT LOSE A SINGLE BOMBER DURING WWII. OBVIOUSLY, YOU DONT KNOW MUCH OF ANYTHING ABOUT BLACK CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS NATION. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE LIKE YOU NEED TO LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT BLACK HISTORY BEFORE OPENING YOUR TRAPS ABOUT WHAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVE DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY.

Ruthie, there's a good chance this wasn't the pilot's fault. There's not a whole lot of room on the ramp at Midway, and this kind of stuff is frequently caused by folks on the ground giving poor directions.

Of course it was his LEFT wing that touched the other plane...

SOMEBODY in Obama's camp keeps hiring these bungling pilots !!

Obama needs Secret Service protection from Hillary.

Case in point. If Vince Foster had Secret Service protection, he would be alive today.

Since we can't carry guns in Illinois, it would be nice if all of us got Senator Obama's protection. Fat Chance.

He's just so special, I guess. Rev Jackson must be fuming as he gets no federal protection detail.

Makes this white boy laugh.

Ok, he's alright. Now you are looking for more free media coverage.

Guess Paulo never heard of the Tuskegee Airmen??

Rico = Paulo

Sen. Obama--

This is the same pilot who took you to the wrong airport a few months ago.

You need to fire this village idiot and find a new pilot.

Ryan and MJ,

You have to read the news like a novel. This is just the foreshadowing of things to come. If Obama gets close to either the nomination or the presidency, how will they get him? An assasin's bullet? A bomb? How about a plane crash?

Stay tuned.

SOMEBODY in Obama's camp keeps hiring these bungling pilots !!

Is this an example of how he'd put together a Cabinet?

Is 'SOMEBODY' your new code word for 'black' Rico? Get a time machine back to the 50s so the rest of us can try to move beyond race led by the future president of the USA... OBAMA!

"Bub" has a fixation !!

Feeling threatened ??

Or looking for excuses for incompetency ??

Obama should have whipped up a few tears; it worked for Hillary. Oh, that's right- big boys don't cry.

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this, but in a large number of airplanes (like small Cessna bush planes, for example), the fuel is stored in the wings. A wing clip, on the air or the ground, could be deadly. I don't know if the Gulfstream or this particular Cessna mode have wing gas-tanks, but metal on metal collision, causes sparks, and sparks + fuel = explosion.