Why didn Boeing and its allies anticipate trouble on the Armed Services Committee?
Again, it depends on whom you ask. Supporters thought Congress would have signed off on the deal by now, but two days of hearings this month exposed new critics and renewed basic questions: Is leasing a good idea, and does the Air Force truly need these planes? Employing typical Washington finger-pointing, the deal’s advocates have blamed Boeing and the Air Force for not adequately defending the deal. Others fault some of Boeing’s lobbyists at Timmons and Co. for failing to set the right atmosphere in the Armed Services Committee. And others cite reasons outside of anyone’s control: The hearings came right after the August recess, and the Air Force and Boeing didn’t have a chance to provide information to key senators. An added wrinkle was that Warner was getting engaged in Europe and was unreachable for much of August. “We failed to make the case before the Senate Armed Services Committee,” U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, a leading advocate for the deal, said in measured tones. Wha
