re: #416 vxbush

I agree. Just a little observation, and I’ll try not to make it too long.

I decided to tune in David Letterman last night (don’t really care much for his show), because his guests were “Sully” Sullenberger and his crew. Here’s a bit of what I learned.

Capt. Sullenberger’s plane was hit by a flock of birds, flaming out both engines. He realized he couldn’t make it back to LaGuardia, or even to Teterboro airport. He recognized that, by trying, he would endanger not only the passengers on the flight, but potentially cause devastation on the ground if he crashed in a populated area. So, he decided to do something else: let the plane do what came naturally (glide while losing altitude) and put down in the Hudson River. As he said last night, landing on the river would be a harder impact than landing on a runway, but it was the best decision. As we all know, he landed safely, with no major injuries, and all passengers rescued.

As I listened, I started thinking that this might be an analogy (albeit not a perfect one) to use when looking at the economy and the stimulus package.

The economy is like that plane. The engines have flamed out, and we’re gliding into freefall. The stimulus package, as written, is like trying to make LaGuardia or Teterboro. It can’t be done, and trying to do so could be catastrophic to all Americans – just like those folks on the ground.

Landing in the Hudson was harder than a landing on a runway, and a few folks were injured slightly. But all made it in the end, and the potential casualties on the ground were saved as well. Perhaps it would be better to take the harder landing option in the economy too.

Capt. Sullenberger had the experience, wisdom, and courage to make a tough decision – the correct one. He also had an experienced, skilled, and courageous crew that knew what they had to do also.

President Obama and his team don’t appear to have any of these, and I fear that in going forward, they’ll force a decision to try for either LaGuardia or Teterboro, and ignore the proper decision. In short, doing nothing may well be analogous to landing in the Hudson; a hard landing for sure, but ultimately a safer and more effective one.

Mr. Obama, I’m certain Capt. Sullenberger would take your call.