what were they thinking?

[totient]

$11.2 billion for a replacement for Marine One? You could build a deep-bore tunnel from the White House to Andrews for half a billion. No wonder Obama is reviewing that program.

Comments

[c1.livejournal.com]

Especially as this is a helo already in service (it saw combat action in Bosnia). What more than "wrap the seats in hand-stitched Corinthian leather and toss in the requisite communications gear" does this boondoggle really need?

[fizzixrat.livejournal.com]

Technically, *any* helicopter that the President of the United States steps inside instantly becomes Marine One, just as any airplane he's inside instantly becomes Air Force One while he's on board.

There's a low-cost alternative lurking in the paragraph above, of course...