here's where it all started. April 30. Here's a quote from the Voice of America

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The White House has asked U.S. television networks to carry the president's speech live from the deck of the aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is returning from more than nine months at sea, part of which was spent participating in the war in Iraq.

Because the ship is still so far off the coast of California, President Bush will fly to the aircraft carrier Thursday morning and visit with the crew before his speech. He will then spend the night on board and leave the carrier by helicopter before it arrives in the port of San Diego so as not to interfere with families' reunions.

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So as not to interfere with their reunions. yeah. ok.

I understand fullt that ships usually know quite a while (weeks) ahead of time what time they arrive in port. They are not early and not late. period. But to say that they were so far off shore, and not to clarify at the time, is disingenuous at best.

damn this makes me grumpy. I recognise it as a small point, but not so small as to be completely inconsequential. At least the carrier wasn't in 'an undisclosed location', and he would land 'at the time and place of his choosing'.