From the official white house.gov website:

Roberts: “What are the legalities of filing a fraudulent flight plan?”
McClellan: “John, I think that the American people understand the
security arrangements that are made in a circumstance like this. The American
people understand the importance of not compromising security, not only for the
President of the United States, but for those on board the plane, and those on
the ground, as well. These are unusual circumstances. The President was pleased
to go into Baghdad and pay tribute to our troops for their service and
sacrifice, and show them that the American people stand fully behind them and
support them in their efforts.”

Ed Chen of the Los Angeles Times soon got into the act: “So the White
House has no compunctions about having misled the American people on this
trip?”
McClellan: “Well, first of all, one, I was not there, but I've gone and
gathered the facts. And I'm not sure that -- again, Colonel Tillman and the
pilots on board the Air Force One are people that relayed this information to
White House staff. And for very good reason, they believed it was a British
Airways flight, for the reason I stated. But now that we know more information,
we made an attempt to get you all that information as quickly as possible. And
that's what we always do.”
Chen: “I'm talking about having misled the public in thinking the
President was at the ranch. In other words, you know, that there's a level of
trust that has been eroded.”
McClellan: “Look, I understand, and I appreciate the question you're
asking. But I think that the American people fully understand the security
arrangements that were made so that the President of the United States could go
and thank our troops in person, on Thanksgiving, during a very special moment
for them, while they were celebrating Thanksgiving Day.”

A male in the front row, so with a top outlet, asked: “So did the
President then -- I mean, he made a decision that it was worth telling a white
lie to accomplish this policy goal -- or a political goal.”
McClellan: “I don't know exactly what you're referring -- I don't think
we viewed it that way."

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Luckily, it was only a little white lie.