Washington, D.C.–President Obama missed a major fundraising event yesterday due to cancellation of his JetBlue flight. The President had arrived on time at Washington National Airport in a Hertz rental car—a subcompact, according to his press secretary—and had been whisked through security. But then he spent two hours checking his bags and signing autographs while waiting to board his flight, only to learn that it had been delayed and—an hour later—canceled entirely. Having already returned his rental car, the President called the First Lady for a ride back to the White House.
Obama’s aborted trip came only two days after Republican contender Mitt Romney missed a connecting flight in Charlotte, N.C., because he’d sat on a Newark runway in a Continental jet for three hours. Then, when he finally reached Memphis (still 150 miles from the site of his scheduled speech) he learned that the Budget Rent-a-Car he’d reserved had been reassigned—and that the airline had lost his luggage. He arrived at his campaign rally six hours after all his supporters had left. Continental subsequently apologized for its delay by awarding double frequent-flier miles to Romney and his fellow passengers.
Silly? Absolutely. But we might well be reading such stories if presidential candidates were to start relying on public transportation. Is there really anyone who thinks that would be a productive use of time for politicians intent on quickly convincing tens of millions of people in 50 states to vote for them?
Apparently so. Because if you Google virtually any presidential candidate’s name and the words “business jet,” you’ll come up with reports suggesting that they’re somehow misbehaving by flying privately. “Mitt Romney spent $125,000 on private jets—despite a pledge to scale back on luxury travel,” according to one story. Ron Paul “has made fiscal conservatism his hallmark” but uses a private jet, said another. There’s even an MSNBC Web page that invites visitors to “take a look through our gallery to find out which big-name lawmakers have encountered private jet troubles.”
And it’s not just the media doing the finger pointing. At a campaign event in Amherst, N.H., Rick Santorum—who has been known to fly privately himself—heard an airplane overhead and took the opportunity to portray Mitt Romney as a candidate who lacks the common touch. “Probably Romney flying in,” Santorum told the crowd as the airplane passed. “Probably a private plane.”
Isn’t it time we stop all this nonsense and recognize that it’s campaigning via airliner, not via private jet, that would represent a misuse of funds?
If we want the candidates to cut expenses, a much better idea would be to push for a moratorium on their frequently mindless and fact-free TV attack ads. Before the last presidential election, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, candidates spent more than $450 million on television advertising in the period from April 3 to Nov. 5, 2008. And those ads didn’t transport anybody to anywhere—except maybe to medicine cabinets for aspirin.
Jeff Burger joined Business Jet Traveler in March 2004, a few months after the publication’s launch. Besides editing the magazine, he has written many articles for it and conducted its interviews with such luminaries as Sir Richard Branson, James Carville, Suze Orman, Donald Trump, F. Lee Bailey, and Steve Van Zandt. Burger helped to oversee the introduction of BJT’s annual Readers' Choice surveys and Buyers’ Guide.
During his years with the magazine, it has won well over a hundred editorial awards. In 2011, Burger received the Gold Wing Award for Reporting Excellence from the National Business Aviation Association and the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association. He has also won writing and editing awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. BJT, meanwhile, was named Best International Publication in 2017 in the Aerospace Media Awards. It was also a Magazine of the Year finalist in 2011, 2013, and 2016 and an Overall Excellence winner in 2018 in competitions sponsored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
Before coming to BJT, Burger spent 14 years at Medical Economics, the nation’s leading business magazine for doctors, where he served on the editorial board; directed staff recruiting; oversaw a $2 million annual budget; and was financial editor, news editor, and director of special projects. He has been editor of several publications, including Phoenix Magazine in Arizona, and has been a consulting editor at Time Inc. His articles have appeared in more than 75 magazines and newspapers, among them The Los Angeles Times, Barron’s, Reader’s Digest, Gentlemen’s Quarterly , and Family Circle. Chicago Review Press published his books, Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounter, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, and Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters. His music writing appears on multiple websites, including his own byjeffburger.com.
Burger, a summa cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, lives in Ridgewood, N.J. He and his wife, Madeleine, have two grown children. His off-hours passions include cooking, travel, technology, movies, and music.
