Let’s see now. You’re planning a photo-op flight of Air Force One in front of the Statue of Liberty–at a cost to taxpayers of $328,835–and you know it could cause a panic among denizens of the Big Apple. Do you (a) let everyone know what to expect so that panic does not ensue or (b) force everyone to keep it a secret so that panic does ensue?

If you’re the FAA, you choose (b) and then claim that letting people know it was coming would cause a panic. They “demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor’s office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.”

If you’re Barack Obama, you then feign anger and order an internal review that will almost certainly exonerate all but perhaps a low-level staffer or two. Then you say it will never happen again, and why should it? You have your souvenir photographs in hand.