Given the mission of the VC-25, perhaps 4 engines are preferable to 2, and there is no other (American) 4-engine airplane like the 747. Having flown the 747 since its -100 version, I can tell you that the -8 is nothing like the original, except perhaps in superficial looks. The mission of the VC-25 is generally quite prosaic, carting dignitaries and press around, but when it’s needed (let’s hope it never is) to perform its most demanding missions, as the nerve center of the free world, all that equipment and installation will earn their expensive keep.
There is no more recognizable symbol of the United States that than that aircraft and I, for one, am glad that the historic appearance will remain essentially unchanged, just updated.