Bush, Bush, & Kennedy

Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) has spoken with his brother the President about keeping USS John F Kennedy afloat. Commissioned in 1968, she's one of the oldest carriers in the fleet, homeported at Naval Station Mayport Florida. The Kennedy was not scheduled for retirement until 2018. But the Navy's trying to cut costs and free up money for the Iraq War. So it's considering mothballing "Big John" right away. That'd be a blow to the local economy around Mayport. The ship's 4,642 crewmembers mean an average payroll of more than $89 million dollars to the Florida community -- and that's not counting the crew members of the two crusisers, four destroyers, two attack subs, and fast combat support ship in her battle group. (Miami Herald)