[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5991-S5992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HAIL TO THE CHIEF

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, the other morning, as I read the clips 
from the Anchorage Daily News, I was taken by a report of an event that 
took place when President Bush landed on the aircraft carrier off of 
San Diego.
  I ask unanimous consent that this Anchorage Daily News article be 
printed in the Record following my remarks on this subject.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. STEVENS. This article referred to Petty Officer 3rd Class Francis 
Cushingham IV, who met and shook hands with the President three times 
while he was on the aircraft carrier. It describes how this 21-year-old 
Alaskan from Eagle River and his 5,000 shipmates played host to 
President Bush and what they did.
  President Bush was on board all day getting to shake hands with 
almost every member of the crew. As the article says:

       Trust an Alaskan to make the most of opportunity. Despite 
     an uncertain start, Cushingham managed to shake Bush's hand 
     three separate times, get his picture taken with the 
     President, and appear in a background shot on the Today show.

  The article goes on to say that Cushingham considers it to be proof 
of his few moments of glory and has a quote from him:

       It's something I'm going to keep to show to my children and 
     my grandchildren. I can say, ``Hey, I met the President.''

  There are people who criticized the President for having landed on 
that aircraft carrier. As a pilot, I envy the opportunity he had to 
land on that aircraft carrier and I certainly do not criticize the 
President for his visit.
  Our battle carrier groups are tremendous examples of the ability of 
the United States to project force to all corners of the globe. What 
better way to show the world that force than to have the President of 
the United States land on this aircraft carrier as it returned to its 
home base?
  In fact, before the President landed on that carrier, the basic air 
combat groups on board the carrier had left. They fly ahead of the 
vessel as it goes into home port so they can go have their reunions 
with their families at the air bases, which reflect their duties. The 
sailors' families meet them as they come in to port. In this instance, 
it was San Diego. I have witnessed some of those real amazing events 
when a major ship comes back into port.
  This visit of the Commander-in-Chief was accomplished within normal 
allocation of training flight hours to the pilots who flew him there. 
He was a passenger. He, as well as I, would like to experience landing 
a plane on an aircraft carrier but we know we cannot do that.
  Very clearly, the President was carrying out the tradition of every 
President since John Tyler in 1844. President Eisenhower visited 
aircraft carriers after World War II. In 1980, Jimmy Carter visited the 
Nimitz, and in 1994, President Bill Clinton, on the George Washington, 
went from England to France for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of 
Normandy. I do not remember any criticism of that. In fact, to the 
contrary. I think Americans are proud of the fact their President goes 
out to greet the troops as they are coming back and spends time with 
them.

  As this article points out, this Alaskan greeted the President as he 
came out of the gym. He had gone to work out with some of the guys and 
gals on board. I cannot think of a better way for a Commander-in-Chief 
to demonstrate the great confidence we have in the young men and women 
who performed their duty in Iraq.
  I ask unanimous consent that another article which I have be printed 
in the Record following my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 2.)
  Mr. STEVENS. This is an article from the Copley News Service entitled 
``Bush Continues Seagoing Tradition.'' It points out the number of 
times that Presidents have gone on board aircraft carriers.
  Long before I came to the Senate, I remember when Adlai Stevenson 
came to Alaska. He was just a Presidential candidate. We traveled miles 
and miles to see him, although I was a Republican candidate for office 
at the time. I think every American wants to see the President and is 
totally honored to ever be in the presence of the President. That 
person represents the honor of our country, and I cannot think of a 
better way for a President to do it than to go out and land on an 
aircraft carrier and honor those who have served our country so well in 
Iraq.
  I do congratulate the President and I hope he keeps it up. I hope he 
visits every naval vessel he can visit and every military base he can 
visit.
  This generation has done a tremendous job for us in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. My generation was referred to as ``the greatest generation.'' I 
think these young people far surpass what we did in terms of their 
ability to follow orders, to achieve the goals that are set for them, 
and to do it in a very humane and humanitarian way.
  Again, I think the President did the right thing by thanking the 
soldiers and sailors and marines on that aircraft carrier in person. I 
again repeat, I hope he will do it again.

                               Exhibit 1

           After Shaky Start, Alaskan Greets Bush Three Times

                           (By Sheila Toomey)

       Petty Officer 3rd Class Francis Cushingham IV was so 
     nervous about meeting the president that he almost blew his 
     first opportunity.
       ``I'm all freaking out. I was basically scared to meet him. 
     I mean, he's like basically the most powerful person on the 
     planet,'' Cushingham said by phone Friday from San Diego, 
     where the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is docked.
       The 21-year-old from Eagle River and his 5,000 shipmates 
     played host Thursday to President Bush, who declared victory 
     in Iraq in a speech broadcast from the carrier as it 
     approached the California coast. The ship, which lift the 
     United States in July, was returning from duty in the Persian 
     Gulf.
       Bush was on board all day, and getting to shake his hand 
     became a ship-wide obsession.
       Trust an Alaskan to make the most of opportunity. Despite 
     an uncertain start, Cushingham managed to shake Bush's hand 
     three separate times, get his picture taken with the 
     president and appear in a background shot on the ``Today'' 
     show.
       ``I'm basking in it,'' Cushingham said. ``Everybody was 
     honored and excited. There's a lot of people who didn't get 
     the chance to shake his hand, and they're all bummed out.''
       The first occasion was outside Cushingham's work station, a 
     room of computers used in navigating the massive ship that's 
     located along a corridor leading to the captain's cabin. When 
     a bunch of Secret Service agents appeared, signaling the 
     president's approach, Cushingham said he got nervous and 
     turned to leave. A colleague stopped him, and the first shake 
     took place.
       ``I said, `How are you, sir? It's a pleasure to meet you, 
     sir.' He said, `Thank you for your service to your country.' 
     I swore my face was the brightest hue of red you could 
     possibly muster, but my friend said I didn't look nervous.''
       An hour later, Bush was returning from the ship gym, 
     wearing workout clothes, needing a shower, friendly and 
     shorter than he looks on television, the 6-foot-3-inch 
     Alaskan said.
       ``He stood in the doorway, saw all of us with our cameras, 
     and pretty much offered a photo op right there. . . . He 
     said, `Who has a camera? Who am I standing with first?' ''
       ``I shook his hand about 4:20 in the afternoon,'' 
     Cushingham said. ``Pacific time.''
       The third shake was up on deck, after Bush's speech. Now a 
     pro, no longer nervous, Cushingham maneuvered to be among the 
     group Bush was scheduled to shake hands with in the afterglow 
     of the international media event.

[[Page S5992]]

       Pressing presidential flesh was good, Cushingham said, but 
     the photo is best. It's proof of his few moments of glory.
       ``It's something I'm going to keep to show to my children 
     and my grandchildren. I can say, `Hey, I met the president.' 
     ''
                                  ____


                               Exhibit 2

                   Bush Continues Seagoing Tradition

                           (By Otto Kreisher)

       Washington.--President Bush's stay aboard the Abraham 
     Lincoln off San Diego today will continue an unbroken record 
     of presidential visits to U.S. Navy aircraft carriers that 
     goes back to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957.
       Nearly half of those carrier visits have occurred in the 
     same Southern California waters that Bush will sail through 
     during his overnight cruise aboard the Lincoln as it nears 
     the end of a war-extended deployment to the Persian Gulf.
       The Lincoln will be the first U.S. warship Bush has gone 
     aboard as president, an apt recognition of the major role 
     that carriers have played in the conflicts that he ordered in 
     Afghanistan and Iraq.
       Because the Lincoln will be too far off San Diego for a 
     helicopter, Bush will fly to the carrier in a tactical 
     aircraft, a historic first for a president.
       After arriving at North Island Naval Air Station aboard Air 
     Force One this morning, Bush will board a twin-jet S-3B 
     Viking from Sea Control Squadron 35. The plane will make a 
     cable-assisted landing on the Lincoln.
       Though he served in the Texas Air National Guard, Bush will 
     be merely a passenger strapped in next to the pilot, 
     according to White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. ``For the 
     sake of the landing,'' Fleischer said. ``I'm sure he will be 
     doing no piloting.''
       Closer to land tomorrow, Bush will return by helicopter and 
     leave North Island before the Everett, Wash.,-based carrier 
     arrives in San Diego Bay.
       The Navy will not discuss where Bush will stay during his 
     night on the nuclear-powered carrier, citing security 
     concerns. But the president could use either the spacious 
     suite provided for the carrier battle group commander, Rear 
     Adm. John M. Kelly, or the large cabin available to the 
     Lincoln's commanding officer, Capt. Kendall Card.
       Both provide a comfortable bedroom with adjoining 
     ``head''--Navy for bathroom--and large conference or dining 
     room located several levels above the flight deck.
       Presidential staff likely will be put into some of the 
     officer staterooms vacated by about half of the air wing's 
     squadrons, which will have flown off to their home stations 
     before Bush arrives.
       Eisenhower started the trend of commanders-in-chief touring 
     carriers with his overnight stay on the Saratoga in June 
     1957. But every U.S. president has spent time on a Navy 
     vessel since John Tyler in 1844, although for several the 
     only nautical exposure was on the presidential yachts.
       Other presidents have spent a lot of time on warships, with 
     the two Roosevelts--both one-time assistant Navy 
     secretaries--leading the pack in visits.
       Theodore Roosevelt, who had served as acting Navy 
     secretary, visited at least six warships as president, 
     including a primitive submarine in 1905.
       Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been assistant Navy 
     secretary, spent months aboard 12 different warships, 
     including many wartime voyages for overseas conferences with 
     allied leaders.
       Although neither Roosevelt ever visited a carrier, both 
     have had flattops named for them.
       George H.W. Bush followed FDR's example of using warships 
     for security overseas. He stayed aboard the cruiser Belknap 
     during a 1989 summit with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev 
     in Malta and on the amphibious assault ship Tripoli during a 
     New Year's 1992 visit to troops in Somalia.
       The elder Bush, a World War II Navy carrier pilot, also 
     visited the carrier Forrestal during his Malta stay.
       John F. Kennedy, a PT boat captain in World War II, became 
     the first president to visit a carrier off San Diego when he 
     toured the Oriskany on June 6, 1963. He then spent that night 
     aboard the Kitty Hawk, watching flight operations.
       Lyndon B. Johnson spent a night aboard the nuclear-powered 
     Enterprise off San Diego on Nov. 10-11, 1967.
       Richard Nixon used two carriers to broadcast Armed Forces 
     Day message to the troops: The Hornet on May 17, 1969, off 
     the Virginia coast and the Independence on May 19, 1973, 
     docked at Norfolk.
       Jimmy Carter's visits aboard the carrier named for 
     Eisenhower in 1978 and the Nimitz in 1980 occurred in the 
     Atlantic. The former nuclear-qualified submariner toured the 
     Eisenhower's nuclear reactor spaces--probably the only 
     president ever to visit that highly restricted area.
       Ronald Reagan spend part of Aug. 20, 1981, on the San 
     Diego-based Constellation, off the California coast.
       Bill Clinton visited three carriers and spent a night 
     aboard the George Washington on June 5-6, 1994, sailing from 
     England to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the D-day 
     invasion.

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