Haley Stevens: “This article referred to Petty Officer 3rd Class Francis Cushingham IV, who met and shook hands with the President three…”

“This article referred to Petty Officer 3rd Class Francis Cushingham IV, who met and shook hands with the President three times while he was on the aircraft carrier. It describes how this 21-year-old Alaskan from Eagle River and his 5,000 shipmates played host to President Bush and what they did. President Bush was on board all day getting to shake hands with almost every member of the crew. As the article says: Trust an Alaskan to make the most of opportunity. Despite an uncertain start, Cushingham managed to shake Bush's hand three separate times, get his picture taken with the President, and appear in a background shot on the Today show. The article goes on to say that Cushingham considers it to be proof of his few moments of glory and has a quote from him: It's something I'm going to keep to show to my children and my grandchildren. I can say, ``Hey, I met the President.'' There are people who criticized the President for having landed on that aircraft carrier. As a pilot, I envy the opportunity he had to land on that aircraft carrier and I certainly do not criticize the President for his visit. Our battle carrier groups are tremendous examples of the ability of the United States to project force to all corners of the globe. What better way to show the world that force than to have the President of the United States land on this aircraft carrier as it returned to its home base?”