Opinion: Barack Obama hits the road with a fresh look

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As Barack Obama traipses across a couple of continents to establish his foreign policy bona fides for the White House, he’s traveling in a buffed-up campaign plane, complete with new lettering on its side. But as he intensifies his effort to appear presidential, it seems he’s learned his lesson about prematurely appropriating the trappings of the office.

A month ago, Obama and his campaign took a fair amount of guff when he spoke from a lectern adorned with a presidential-looking seal -- a decorative touch that quickly got mothballed.

This weekend, as his foreign travels neared a transition from a congressional ‘fact-finding’ tour -- with transportation provided by the government -- to a candidate-financed trip, the Obama campaign rolled out its refurbished Boeing 757.

As it streaks across the sky and taxis in and out of various airports, the plane won’t be mistaken for Air Force One, which on its fuselage includes the authentic presidential seal and, in large letters, is labeled ‘United States of America.’

But the Obama jet does proudly proclaim: ‘Change We Can Believe In.’ Our friend Mike Dorning has more on the redesigned plane at The Swamp blog.

-- Don Frederick