Lets see... I seem to recall that there were something like 10,000 plus sorties flown off the deck of that carrier in the 10 months they were at sea without a single incident. It seems to me that safety was a non-issue. A million dollars is like $5.50 in government speak. I wonder how much it wouldve cost for Marine 1 to make the same trip. My guess is not much less. :rolleyes:

-White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said though the ship was making unexpected good time to port Thursday, it would have remained offshore until its scheduled arrival Friday — even without Bush's overnight visit.

Navy Rear Adm. Stephen Pietropaoli said it's procedure for ships to arrive as scheduled out of courtesy for the waiting families: "They do a lot of planning, and you don't surprise them and show up (early) before moms and children get there."-

Your point? Does it change the fact he took the controls for a bit? Does it change the fact he knows what he is doing?