by Stephen of the Thinkery
In anticipation of crowded airports and planes for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, President Bush announced that he would open up military airspace in an effort to reduce congestion and make flying a bit more tolerable.
It's certainly an interesting idea, and I know that most air travelers would welcome almost any strategy to make things easier. Here's some commentary on the decision from Mike Boyd, president of the Boyd Group, an aviation consulting firm, on Fox & Friends a couple days ago:
Even though this decision won't actually do anything, Democrats should really take notice of it and file it away for future reference. It's a masterful move politically. It sounds like a good idea, and when people are stuck in airports this week they'll be able to think, "Thank goodness Bush opened up all that airspace or this would really be bad!"
Also, since there really isn't any way for the government to make flying more enjoyable - except for the meaningless nonsense we have to go through in the security lines - and since this announcement will probably actually make some people feel a little better about whatever experience they do have this next week, I don't think there's any reason to criticize Bush's team for coming up with the idea. Sometimes good politics, and even good governance, is just about making "the American folks/people/proletariat" feel good.
