Obama Doing for the Private Aircraft Business What He Did for Las Vegas

Remember when Obama announced that you just couldn't go to Las Vegas and have your fancy meetings?  The Las Vegas convention business tanked as corporations were afraid of being called out by the administration, even though Vegas is a pretty cheap place to hold a meeting.

Now the private aircraft business is feeling the same heat as Obama has taken several shots at "private jet owners" in recent remarks, and they're not happy:

Much has been made of President Barack Obama’s repeated demonizing of corporate jets and the people who fly on them in his June 29th press conference.

While pundits and politicians haggle over whether alterations in the depreciation schedule of corporate jets will actually have an impact on the deficit, those in the general aviation trenches are furious.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPO) President Craig Fuller told The Daily Caller that Obama’s comments have cast a pall over the industry, causing many who were considering buying a plane to back away from making a purchase.

“The industry has suffered terribly in the last two and a half years and it has just started to recover. Most of the signs were starting to look good,” said Fuller. “We are so angry as an industry and we have all come together to try to bring a more fair and balanced description to the debate.”

For a guy who flies around in a private 747, Obama sure gets bugged about other people having jets. You might remember the way Congress scolded auto executives when they dared to fly their company planes to Washington to testify. Politicians are generally clueless about the utility of having private aircraft at the disposal of company officers and the way it can make their travel more efficient.

Demonizing an America industry, like private aviation, is yet another sign that Obama basically despises capitalism and the rewards that come when it's done well.