Ridiculing Gunga Dan @ Scylla & Charybdis

Here's today's post at Scylla & Charybdis

For a network trying to kiss up to President Bush, CBS is a failure! Consider the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. They were still trying to play the “slow and stingy” angle. Here was Gunga Dan standing inside the hangar deck (with sunlight pouring through the hatch behind his right shoulder) trying to appear as if he were in darkness (as would be the audience on the East Coast). And John Roberts in New York interviewing the Rolodex Ranger, Les Gelb, who said “They finally made up for that lost ground”.
What are the facts? The Navy got the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln from Hong Kong to Sumatra faster than Gunga Dan got there from New York by jet! Did the CBS anchor bother to ask one of the 6000 men aboard when they first got notice to prepare to leave Hong Kong? When did they get the last man back from a well deserved liberty ashore? When did they weigh anchor? Not on your life! We got a timeline of
12/26 The wave hits.
12/27 The Administration pledges the first $15M.
12/29 The President first speaks in public.
Whoa Nellie! Didn’t the Lincoln leave Hong Kong on 12/28? Huh, Gunga Dan? The 28th by Hong Kong time which is 13 hours ahead of New York time (it’s light there when it’s dark in New York)!

Update 10:13 AM 1/4/05 http://www.cvn72.navy.mil/ has press releases from Abraham Lincoln CVN 72. It's quite interesting reading and gives an idea of the preparations needed to assist! Be sure to check out the planning contingencies for quatermasters release. It gives a brief overview of the challenges faced in navigating such a high speed transit.