Sen. John Kerry Unveils New Campaign Plane

— -- Sen. John Kerry, joined by national campaign chairwoman Gov. Jean Shaheen, christened his permanent Boeing 757 campaign plane this morning at Washington Reagan National Airport.

The 94-seat, custom designed jet features three cabins, first class seats in most sections, a private office, two freestanding service bars, and a couch.

The exterior of the white plane features "John Kerry" over "President" over the front section and three red, white, and blue stars as an accent. The tail of the plane is blue, again accented with three red, white, and blue stars. On both engines is the Senator's primary campaign theme, a round "Real Deal" logo. A red stripe lines the bottom of the plane.

As staffers waved small American flags and pom-poms, Kerry, with a fresh hair cut, joked, "We contracted with the lowest bidder we could find," continuing to guarantee, "in the event of an emergency, my hair can be used as a floatation device."

The presumptive Democratic nominee reflected, "This will be our home in the sky and our office and our transportation to the hearts and minds of the American people."

Kerry turned serious as he recalled Vietnam "Freedom Birds" which took soldiers home. The Senator then proclaimed, "This is my freedom bird now."

The Massachusetts Senator concluded his remarks with an oblique nod to Langston Hughes, using language similar to that used in a Portland, Oregon speech last week, saying, "We need to let America be America again."

And while the Kerry campaign has dubbed the new plane "Freedom Bird", many in the press corps still prefer "Hair France".