In the wake of Thursday’s US Airways near-disaster on the Hudson River, and the heroic actions of the pilot and crew in keeping all the passengers alive, some have suggested that the event – or at least its main players – might find a place in Tuesday’s inaugural address.
Perhaps, but I think it would be more suited to President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress in February. And there’d be precedent.
In his 1982 State of the Union address, two weeks after an Air Florida jet crashed into DC’s 14th Street Bridge and the Potomac River shortly after takeoff, President Reagan recalled the heroism of Lenny Skutnik, a federal worker who dove into the river to save a passenger.
In his book on presidential speechwriting, White House Ghosts, Robert Schlesinger describes how Skutnik made it into the president’s address … and launched a new rhetorical gimmick: seating ordinary Americans with the First Lady in the House balcony so the president can hail their achievements.
It’s not too difficult to imagine pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger getting a seat near Michelle Obama next month. (And can you imagine a better name for a hero?)
