(08-06-2010 10:44 AM)Charm City Bronco Wrote:  

(08-06-2010 09:52 AM)BCBronco Wrote:  Reluctantly, I agree with Dip. Even if it is not our money, the message being sent is the wrong message.

J

Shouldn't you have more important things to worry about, like an oil spill in SW MI?

NIMBY

Not to be outdone, hubby did his part to siphon off tax payer money...........

Quote:President Obama Friday flew Marine One from the White House less than six miles to Northwest D.C.

He choppered to Gelberg Signs, the Washington, D.C.-based company where he'll deliver remarks on the economy and July employment numbers. According to Google maps, the drive would have taken about 20 minutes from the White House.

Nobody cares.

Sure, that's why it was on the CBS Morning News.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-2...03544.html

That's why the usual group of lefties are falling all over themselves here to make excuses for the Obama's excess in a time when he wants the rest of us to cut back. "Let's cut back on those junkets to Vegas" (the people of Vegas sure appreciated that one).

Frankly, I don't care. But branding and perception are 90% of the game when you're president................and the brand many people are seeing is an out of touch president who doesn't grasp that people are hurting, and he needs to share some of their pain, not rub salt in the wound by doing Broadway weekends, golfing during a crisis, taking his pals to Copenhagen, his wife taking an entourage to Spain, and doing 10 days with the elites in Nantucket.

Next up, President heads to Nantucket for 10 days on his never ending vacation tour.

I'm with the opinion that what the Obamas do with their private money is their business, just like anyone else. But having said that... If you desire to emit a tightening-the-belt/sacrifice message, then you need to be careful to avoid being brushed with the "do as I say, not as I do" adage if you run against that message.

Further, if I were an advisor to the Obamas, I would've recommended US destinations for lavish trips while in office and while the economy is still struggling. If Michelle Obama went to Maui instead of Spain, at least they could spin it as pumping money back into American business.

If anyone believes that the Obama "private money" is paying for the cost (the total cost) of these trips, I've got some real estate I want to sell you.

Always proud to be a Bronco.

OK, where's the evidence? That's what I thought.

Without knowing the details, my guess is that some of the costs, particularly security and maybe transportation, is paid by the public dime. But the rooms, food, and other trip incidentals are paid by their own money. I'm also assuming this would be the case when any sitting president's family members go on a pleasure trip.

I would say that is a fair assessment.

(08-09-2010 09:35 AM)Charm City Bronco Wrote:  I would say that is a fair assessment.

Let us review Presidential vacations:

Johnson: ranch in Texas
Nixon:??????
Ford???? Was he even in office long enough to take a vacation?
Reagan: Camp David and CA "ranch", more like woods with trails and a tiny house.
Carter:???????
Clinton: Martha Vineyards camping out west
Bush I: Main
Bush II: ranch in Texas

Both Bush's caught on ton of flack for their vacations.

Again perception is everything. This was not thought out well.
That was a big reason Clinton did the camping thing.

From the right wing Chicage Sun Times:

The first lady is on a private trip. She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I'd leave it at that," Gibbs said.

Gibbs is wrong. Mrs. Obama oversees a major Obama domestic initiative, the child health campaign. In April, she flew to Mexico to launch her "international agenda" of youth engagement. And she supervises an East Wing staff that is responsible for every special event in the White House, from bill signings to state dinners. Mrs. Obama is a public figure and it is reasonable to ask how she spends taxpayer resources.

(08-09-2010 11:51 AM)bronco74 Wrote:  Let us review Presidential vacations:

She's not the President.

Quote:She's not the President

Doesn't matter. Much of this trip is being footed on the tax payers dime. Like it or not, the perception is she's spending the tax payers money like a drunken sailor. Furthermore, she ignored spending it domestically and spent it overseas. It's been the top headline on Drudge for 4 days now. The networks are picking up on it. The European papers are having a field day with it.

These people don't get it. The nation is a year three of the "never ending recession." Under these circumstances they need to be very careful about how they're perceived. No doubt they think they're universally loved................Polls show different.

Aug 3rd
The latest USAToday/Gallup poll shows President Obama’s job approval rating at 41 percent, a historic low.

(08-09-2010 12:24 PM)Chipdip Wrote:  Much of this trip is being footed on the tax payers dime.

Link?

(08-09-2010 12:35 PM)Charm City Bronco Wrote:  

(08-09-2010 12:24 PM)Chipdip Wrote:  Much of this trip is being footed on the tax payers dime.

Link?

What flavor do you want?

As the Huffingtonpost.com site points out in the article, the most expensive part of the trip is being picked up by the American taxpayers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/06...73118.html

I am so proud of our first lady.

She is a shining example of the finest in womanly attributes.

I love that she has a vegetable garden to supply the White House kitchen. That will help with the food expense.

She is so well received where-ever she goes. The Queen of Spain seemed so glad to see her.

It is really quite unseemly for people to run down the wife of a sitting president like this. Where is the respect, and the dignity associated with her position in life?

Once again, America is beginning to gain a little respect and dignity around the world, that was so sadly lost during the Bush years, with their insular and provincial attitudes towards the world community.

The value of that good will and evidence of a willingness to once again take up our rightful place as leaders of the free world has an unmeasurable effect on our national economy, far over and above the relatively minor costs associated with the trip.

There was a point in time we were spending in excess of 5 BILLION dollars a month in Iraq, much of it going to Bushes buddies in Halliburton and Black Water. Remember the $500 per gallon fuel Halliburton was hauling from Kuwait, that they were paying 76 cents per gallon for? The $1000 McDonalds hamburgers in the little diners they set up? Etc. Give me a little break in here.

(08-09-2010 11:51 AM)bronco74 Wrote:  

(08-09-2010 09:35 AM)Charm City Bronco Wrote:  I would say that is a fair assessment.

Let us review Presidential vacations:

Johnson: ranch in Texas
Nixon:??????
Ford???? Was he even in office long enough to take a vacation?
Reagan: Camp David and CA "ranch", more like woods with trails and a tiny house.
Carter:???????
Clinton: Martha Vineyards camping out west
Bush I: Main
Bush II: ranch in Texas

Both Bush's caught on ton of flack for their vacations.

Again perception is everything. This was not thought out well.
That was a big reason Clinton did the camping thing.

There was significant modifications to Reagan's, (both) Bush's properties for their vacations at home, including permanent buildings on the tax payers dime, mainly for security purposes.

(08-08-2010 10:24 AM)Chipdip Wrote:  Not to be outdone, hubby did his part to siphon off tax payer money...........

Quote:President Obama Friday flew Marine One from the White House less than six miles to Northwest D.C.

He choppered to Gelberg Signs, the Washington, D.C.-based company where he'll deliver remarks on the economy and July employment numbers. According to Google maps, the drive would have taken about 20 minutes from the White House.

So what would cost more: a 5 minute flight on Marine One or blocking off the streets for the presidential motorcade of 3+ vehicles for 20 minutes?

It's priceless watching libs try and justify the unjustifiable. Great entertainment guys :domokun: