Michelle Obama Plans Multi-Million Dollar Trip to China
Michelle Obama, her daughters and her mother plan a week-long solo visit to China this month that includes meetings with China’s first lady and high school and university students – and that will likely cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars.
. . . .
According to Judicial Watch, it cost more than $11 million for the president and his wife to travel to Africa to attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral in December of last year. According to the New York Daily News, the Obamas were only in Africa for ‘less than 13 hours.’
But that trip was nothing compared to a 2013 visit the Obamas made to the Dark Continent, which reportedly cost tax payer more than $100 million.
On the 2013 trip, some of the reported expenditures include the stationing of a Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of Africa equipped with a fully staffed medical trauma center, military cargo planes to fly a fleet of 56 support vehicles to transport the Obamas – complete with 14 limousines and three trucks carrying bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the Obamas were to stay – and fighter jets that flew in shifts to provide coverage over the president’s airspace for the entire trip.
In June, the first lady went to Ireland for a two-day trip. The cost to taxpayers: $5 million.
Michelle Obama reportedly stayed at a $3,300-per-night hotel in Dublin, and needed to book 30 rooms at the posh Shelbourne Hotel for her staff and security detail.
Thank God the era of austerity is over! You don’t want it to look like a schlock affair. Oh: here is candidate Obama from 2008:
We’ve lived through an era of easy money, in which we were allowed and even encouraged to spend without limits; to borrow instead of save….
Once we get past the present emergency, which requires immediate new investments, we have to break that cycle of debt.
A walk down memory lane regarding Obama’s spendthrift nature here.
Thanks to Dana, who provides at least half the ideas for posts lately.
Moochelle Obama, the most successful welfare queen in history. How is a vacation for her, her daughters, and her mother, possibly justifiable as a government expense?
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:57 amThe Empress is growing on me just a bit. She’s a bit more accessible than Imelda Marcos.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:09 amno ego, at all.
http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/10128/michelle-obama-what-i-notice-about-men-all-men-me-first
narciso (3fec35) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:11 am3. Self-awareness not a real schtrenth either.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:16 amThe republic of bananas.
mg (31009b) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:54 amIt has been said that travel is broadening. (Uh oh.)
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:16 amlet’s Moooooooooooooooooooooo-ve America!
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:54 amThe Obama daughters only have 2 more Spring Breaks while their father is in office. You don’t expect them to spend it in Florida, do you?
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:07 ami, as one of the many Americans struggling just to survive here in Obamamerica, am pleased beyond words that the First Wookie & her spawn, allegedly sired by our SCOAMF, graciously allow me the privilege of vicariously enjoying the better things in life through their exploits and the in-depth coverage it is afforded by our ever vigilant media, composed of tireless, hard hitting seekers of truth.
now, if you’ll excuse me, i need to go projectile hurl my toenails…
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:16 am“(W)hat are we willing to sacrifice to make that sure we have the resources to do it?” -Michelle Obama
How about spending the money on some plastic surgery?
CrustyB (5a646c) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:28 amAt some point, you’ve taken enough taxpayer paid vacations.
No, that’s not how the saying goes.
Simon Jester (f6be7b) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:46 amLimousine liberalism is a beautiful, wholesome, gratifying phenomenon to behold. We all need to get in on that deal.
Mark (71f7cb) — 3/4/2014 @ 11:26 am9. I do think you’re putting the best possible face on this. Congrats on achieving maturity.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 12:06 pm#13: i haven’t, i won’t, and you can’t make me, so there…neenerneenerneener!
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 12:24 pmOn behalf of the American taxpayer, I think we should offer up an additional $11 million if once they arrived in China, they would stay in China.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 3/4/2014 @ 1:00 pmWhy do the Obamas hate Florida ?
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 3/4/2014 @ 1:00 pmNo matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, a pig is still a pig, and no matter how many vacations Moochelle takes she’s still the ugliest pig in the pen and she’s the pig with her nose stuck deepest in the public trough.
ropelight (67ba9f) — 3/4/2014 @ 1:09 pmShe has to go to get new ideas for her War on Obesity.
askeptic (2bb434) — 3/4/2014 @ 1:30 pmPerhaps she can go on a fact-finding tour of all the countries where there are pending U.S. ambassador nominees.
Icy (25334d) — 3/4/2014 @ 1:51 pmOT– but will the stupidity never end? In Wisconsin the state assembly majority leader (a R) is unanimously ousted after details of sexual harassment emerged and he quickly entered a “treatment facility”. At least they didn’t pussy-foot around and got rid of him in a hurry. Walker did not need this.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-assembly-wisconsin-20140302,0,7808103.story
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 2:06 pmNo matter how deeply Moochelle grazes at the public trough, she’s still hungry for more twenty minutes later. Kinda like Chinese food…
Beasts of England (5f461c) — 3/4/2014 @ 2:15 pmR.I.P. Michael Shea, science fiction & fantasy author
Icy (25334d) — 3/4/2014 @ 2:39 pmRead “Nifft The Lean” [always trust in book recommendations from Icy]
In Yana, The Touch of Undying; A Question For Symbilis (A Cugel book).
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 4:10 pmRevoke her passport
mg (31009b) — 3/4/2014 @ 4:16 pmThe First Lady gets seventy-seven vacation days a year and she wants to use then before she loses them.
Birdbath (716828) — 3/4/2014 @ 4:16 pmCome the Revolution, everybody will travel to China at government expense.
(Somebody say, “Personally, I don’t like to travel to China”.)
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 4:42 pmOK, look. I don’t like Bozo McFlappyears, his policies, his platitudes, or his arrogance. I don’t expect that the political utterances of his mate or his spawn are any improvement. That said, why do conservative/libertarian blogs tend to carry on about Michelle Obama’s looks? Granted, she isn’t a beautiful movie starlet. But she ain’t that bad. She’s one hell of a lot more attractive than Hillary, who always struck me as looking like what you get if you send the Wicked Witch of the West to law school.
Sorry, but I don’t get it.
C. S. P. Schofield (e8b801) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:06 pmOf these three, which one does the MFM gush over for her beauty and glamor ad nauseum?
http://iowntheworld.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/michelle-obama-42.jpg#Michelle%20Obama%20walking%20up%20stairs
I’ll give you a hint; it’s the one with the “incredibly toned arms.”
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:30 pmIs that the standard, is it?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:31 pmWhy don’t you do an search with the terms “Michelle Obama magazine covers” and then come back here and see if you can type with a straight face that it’s the conservative/libertarian blogs who are carrying on about Michelle Obama’s looks.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:34 pmBackfeifengesicht.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:36 pmDRJ– what are the primary races in Texas you are particularly watching this evening?
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:40 pmThere’s other first ladies besides Cankles. http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01716/bruni_1716788c.jpg
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:43 pmIn the latest chapter in the War on Women, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Rep. Alan Grayson’s wife has been granted a temporary order of protection against him after some stuff happened this past weekend. Our country is in the very best of hands.
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 5:55 pmThis Business Insider post has some nice things to say about Cruz and some very complimentary quotes about Cruz. Stockman and his run, not so much. They predict Cornyn will win big. Does this track with Texans’ observations about Stockman’s campaign?
http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-stockman-campaign-texas-senate-primary-john-cornyn-2014-3
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:07 pmI have a great deal more respect for the First Lady as a bag of cytoplasm than her
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:08 pmConsortroomie.You can look at Grayson’s eyes and see he’s more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Plus, he’s far left, which sort of gives it away.
Colonel Haiku (1fb3ba) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:09 pmI’m not a fan of government spending in general, but being as it is a fact of life, I’m not sure Obama’s trip was the worst spending ever.
Factually, more African (and about a million European) slaves died in the Muslim nations than America (but almost all the Muslim-owned slaves were killed or died in captivity after a few years, so people don’t know about this). Similarly, Brazil had more slaves than America did.
However, largely due to American openness and the extremely dramatic Civil War, the perception is that America was a or the prime perpetrator in bringing African slaves against their will to a new continent. Obama, by showing in person that the US has changed to the point where a man with a Nigerian father can be President, probably helped heal that psychic wound some.
He’s going to do some foreign travel. As the first black President, why not Africa?
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:39 pmpersonally, I don’t like to travel to China
or anywhere else that i have to go through my federally mandated groping by the fascist perverts of TSA.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:40 pmCorrection: Kenyan father
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:41 pmThanks, red.
Come the Revolution, you will travel to China and like it.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:41 pmmay i be the first to suggest that you use your free Obamacare to go down and have your eyes examined? then you can use all your funemployment time to actually see the women of the world, and answer your own question.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:41 pmcome the revolution, i’ll be mowing down the red guard cadre as they come, and stack their bodies like they’re sandbags to keep the MRAPs away.
now get off my lawn.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:44 pmI read a few paragraphs to my daughter from the Communist Manifesto the previous weekend. I asked her what she thought of it. Eleven year-olds should not use language like that in front of their father (but considering that she got that from me too …)
Actually, I love Russian humor. It has that whistling past the graveyard/pulling the devil’s tail quality.
A Soviet judge comes out of his courtroom laughing fit to bust. Another judge asks him what’s so funny. The first judge says, “I just heard the funniest joke”. The second judge says, “Tell it to me”. The first judge says, “No way. I just sentenced a guy to ten years for saying it.”
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:57 pmThis is just so hard to believe. Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s daughter is standing trial on Federal charges for money laundering in a jobs program grants scam.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-rev-wrights-daughter-stands-trial-on-state-grant-scam-allegations-20140304,0,361304.story
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 6:57 pmActually, I’m sure it is. For the simple fact that previous Presidents would vacation at homes they owned before being elected President. So if Carter went to his peanut farm, or Reagen went to his ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains, or Bush1 went to Kennebunkport, or…
Well, you get the idea. There was a savings per trip because President’s get Secret Service protection for life. So they wouldn’t have to constantly send advance teams to scout new locations. They’d already have everything set up, considering they’re going to be working there for years.
I can categorically state that there is no aircraft carrier standing off the coast of Texas to support the Bushies when they’re at their Texas homes.
But Obama? Every time they speed off on a whim it’s a new set up. They don’t have a home they want to spend time at. They own a home in Chicago. It’s just an address.
Then there’s the fact the Obamas rarely vacation at Camp David. The people at the White House Communications agency can commute home and spend time with their families if the first family spends Christmas at Camp David. It’s only 70 miles from DC. Same thing goes for the SS protective detail and all other support staff. Most Preezy’s took that into consideration. Not the Obama’s.
I could go on.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:01 pmIt’s a flexible standard Steve, they would drool over Lurch’s homes, whereas snicker at McCain’s properties, and we know Carney basically stalked
narciso (3fec35) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:08 pmW at Crawford,
Their standards are so flexible, why, it’s almost like not having standards at all!
Or, is that the point?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:13 pmNah, he was the first-ever first-ever black President America was going to elect, and I’m sure African-Americans and Africans appreciated the reach out to African nations. Maybe there was some selfishness with it too, but a lot of people understand and support his visiting Africa.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:14 pmshould have put that in quotes, Rezko got them that pad in Chicago, but they never use it,
narciso (3fec35) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:15 pmwhile hoochie’s in China she should pick up some ephedra
you can’t buy it here in failmerica cause Meghan’s coward daddy banned it
happyfeet (8ce051) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:29 pmUhh, FC @49, you do realize that Obama wasn’t the first easy peasy Preezy to visit sub-Saharan Africa while in office, right?
The others just didn’t go on luxury safaris and demand aircraft carriers be stationed off the coast in case they got a hang nail.
That costs money, you know. Stationing a carrier and its attendant battle group (now called a “Carrier Readiness Group) nearby to support a “lifestyles of the rich and famous” romp through the bushveldt.
And I’ve got news for you. The Africans didn’t appreciate the Preezy’s constant lecturing on gay rights. That’s not part of their culture. But then, they knew he was pandering to his domestic political base.
Which made the resentment all that worse.
I hope this doesn’t come as a shock to you, but in Africa having a black Preezy ain’t all that freakin’ historic.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/27/obama-africa-gay-rights_n_3512530.html
Having dark skin doesn’t give a Hawaiian born Harvard man any great insight into Africa. Just so you know. Not even having Africa relatives does that.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:29 pmMeaning, of course, he was using Africans as props, like those fake Greek columns.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:31 pmI am no fan of the First Lady.
But in this target-rich environment, her transgressions don’t make my top-100 list.
Beldar (8ff56a) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:36 pmI’m inclined to think the extravagant living is part of the pay-back mentality, a little bit of self-reparations, if you will. And his base doesn’t mind at all.
Anybody have a chart comparing the travels of the last several first ladies?
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:38 pm==they never use it,
Comment by narciso (3fec35) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:15 pm==
Actually, the neighbors and the U of C are right glad they don’t use it. It’s a city house and shutting down entire blocks of residential streets and controlling access to the campus and neighborhood –and the police presence required to do it– is egregiously inconvenient for everybody and resented. It’s not at all like a president going home to the seclusion of Crawford or Santa Ynez.
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:40 pmBeldar, I agree. Sort of.
I’m really tired of seeing her on the cover of magazines every time I’m standing in the check-out line at the supermarket, though.
Really, really tired.
Mr. Schofield, when you search on “Michelle Obama magazine covers” make sure you select “images” for the full effect.
Help! Help! I’m being propagandized and I can’t make it stop.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:40 pmMost Preezy’s took that into consideration. Not the Obama’s.
I recall reading about how the Reagans, for example, would purposefully arrange their vacation schedules to accommodate the needs of White House employees and the administration’s security force in particular. I believe George W Bush also tried to be similarly considerate too.
I still remember reading the book penned by a former FBI officer regarding what the White House was like upon the switchover from Bush Sr to Bill Clinton. Low-level staffers complained about how unhelpful and sloppy the Clintonites were compared with their predecessors. Years later, there were also reports of politically inspired vandalism done by those same Clintonistas to the succeeding administration (or Bush Jr).
These are admittedly just small fragments of the bigger picture, but it’s another reason why I’ve lost more and more respect for liberalism and liberals through the years.
Mark (71f7cb) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:44 pm==I’m inclined to think the extravagant living is part of the pay-back mentality, a little bit of self-reparations, if you will. And his base doesn’t mind at all.==
Absolutely, MD. The mentality is “it’s our turn–finally.” Some even express it that openly.
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:45 pmYup. The high minded hyena socialists of Hyde Park and the University of Chicago agree.
Let the lower castes in Hawaii put up with the disruption to their lives.
After all, they’re not engaged in anything as noble as academia. The peasants inhabiting that Pacific isle are catering to the (shudder) tourist industry.
How vulgar!
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:45 pmYou’d probably convince me Obama spent $50,000,000 more than he needed to pretty easily — not that he, as the first African-American president, shouldn’t have traveled to Sub-Saharan Africa in his first term.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:46 pmI apologize to hyenas for comparing them to the denizens of Hyde Park or the faculty of the University of Chicago.
Hyenas are actually respectable creatures which perform a useful function.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:48 pmIt’s a nice enough house for a middle class family with a couple of kids, who wants to live in the city, but it’s nowhere near a mansion. Not much room for “staff” — Michelle might have to get up to get her own diet water. And there have been drive-by shootings one street over. I haven’t been that way for maybe fifteen years, and then it was at the Court Theater off the U of C campus, but it was a “mixed” neighborhood — not everybody a lawyer or a professor. To put it kindly.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:53 pmGeez, Steve, judgmental much? Nothing like painting an entire area with a broad brush.
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:54 pmWhat’s with the false choices? These aren’t the only two alternatives. It isn’t an either/or proposition. Either Prom Queen spends $50,000,000 more than he needs to (and I think he spent more but that’s hard to prove because while he’s willing to stick the taxpayer he’s unwilling to release the info as to how high and how hard) or he doesn’t go at all.
You don’t think there’s some middle ground between the two?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:55 pmWhere did I my crayon stray outside the lines in this the great coloring book of life?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 7:58 pmnk just told you, steve. @63.
elissa (d1d13e) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:02 pmWhich didn’t show up on my screen until after I read your comment, elissa.
Seriously, your comment was immediately after mine when I first saw it.
As far as Hyde Park goes, I can only go by what I’m told since I’ve never been there and have no desire to check it out. And Obama told me Bill Ayers is “just some guy in the neighborhood.”
That tells me something about the neighborhood.
As far as drive by shootings or what not, criminals do tend to go where the money is. There’s no point fighting over poor neighborhoods.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:09 pmhttp://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5046-S-Greenwood-Ave-Chicago-IL-60615/50904051_zpid/
Yeah, I’d say a cool two mil is nice enough for a middle class family. It don’t sound upscale to me at all.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:12 pmDespite Franklin Marshall Davis being the draw to Chicago for Crack Whore, Jarrett, Axelrod, et al., I think the Obamas will be setup off shore, in Asia.
http://hillbuzz.org/who-is-funding-the-purchase-of-the-35-million-beachfront-hawaiian-estate-for-barack-and-michelle-obama-to-move-into-come-january-2013-2013
After the breakup Dog gets the guesthouse adjacent to the Par Three.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:13 pmIt would really be tough to squeeze any sort of staff into a 6k square foot home with only 7 baths.
What was I thinking?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:15 pmhttp://www.chicagotraveler.com/barack-obamas-house
What a slum Hyde Park must be.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:16 pm72. Louis F. is a neighbor as well. I am pretty sure we’re talking anti-Amerikkkan ghetto.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:21 pmWhen in Wausau we used to visit these people, he’s retired Navy from Otsego MN.
http://www.stewartinn.com/
The house is 6-7000 sq. ft. in Prairie Style, a student of FL Wright architect.
Houses this size have a ‘below-stairs’ back end on each level. A ball room in the attic. That and the basement are not counted toward square footage.
They are built to house a couple of permanent housekeepers.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:37 pmI dislike the president discussing the public’s need for austerity measures while his own household is recklessly spending exorbitant amounts of taxpayer money on luxuries. Because hypocrisy…
Now, I’m just going to spit this out: What is almost more troubling is how Mrs. Obama’s looks become part of the equation. I don’t understand this and find it shallow as well as sinking to the Democrat’s level (see: Sarah Palin). On a broader note, this unfortunately represents what any woman, left or right, and running for president will be subject to. It’s aggravating because let’s face it, males running don’t face this (or if they do, it’s a minute level). The double standard is galling; that conservatives sink to this, well, disappointing. There is plenty to be critical about, no doubt, so why start scraping the bottom by going after her looks?
Dana (9f8700) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:39 pm74. BTW, retirees who don’t mind the cold can snap up a house like that in Wausau or Duluth beginning at $300K.
Dubuque, IA has some nice ones as well.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:43 pm75. No offense taken, nk?
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:47 pmDana, again I suggest you search on “Michelle Obama magazine covers.” And make sure you select “images.”
This is how her looks became part of the equation. Nobody put a gun to her head and forced her to appear on the cover of Vogue, O, Glamor, Essence, Upscale, Ebony, People, Conde Nast Traveler, etc., etc., etc.
Several times each.
You don’t think the media adulation is tiresome? You don’t think the MFM’s attempts to pound it into my skull how beautiful Michelle Obama of the sainted marvelously toned arms is likely to lead to some inevitable revulsion on my part? As in, she’s really not that good looking (2010). To, I’m sick and tired of looking at the b**** (2013).
I see it as a natural progression. I feel the same way about Kim Kardashian.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:52 pmAgain, search on the terms “Michelle Obama magazine covers” and you’ll see how the Obama fanbois made looks part of the equation.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:54 pmNo. I stand corrected. I had a different picture of it, dating from the Rezko brouhaha over the adjoining empty lot.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:55 pmDana, I have no qualms over calling Mrs. Obama the First Klingon when called for, but when I refer to her as Moochelle it is from “mooch” not from “moo”, so this one time I’m innocent.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 8:58 pm75. “males running don’t face this”
Actually, I do take exception. I myself find Paul, Walker, Mitch Daniels, etc., too small to take totally seriously. Mitch is hair challenged to boot.
Most of us laugh at Stay Puft because he’s sweaty and gross.
BJ was coiffured on the tarmac and had groupies hanging on him where ever. Crack Whore has the ladies(sic) of the View pinching his azz.
DC itself may not be a meat market, not because these people are serious, but because they’re power mad. Physically attractive young people are crawling all over Alexandria VA and Bethesda MD to satisfy the needs of the powerful.
Superficiality regarding physical attractiveness is a fact of life.
Palin, for one example, is despised because of God’s gifts, not her carnal shortcomings.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:01 pmMy parents’ house in Chicago, built around the turn of the century (the electrical conduits were originally gas lines), had 23 rooms, three fireplaces, a dumbwaiter, and a coachhouse with two separate garage doors that could fit five cars and included two walled storage sheds. My parents were factory workers.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:03 pmSuperficiality regarding physical attractiveness is a fact of life.
Of course it is, but that’s not what we’re talking about. Men simply do not face the extent of criticism that women in office/public life do. Whether it’s wrinkles, makeup, hair do, or attire, women get it in spades. (And if you’re a post-menopausal woman running, it doubles).
My point simply is there plenty to go after: Policy, ideology, hypocrisy, etc. – enough to sink one’s ship, so why not stick to that?
Dana (9f8700) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:15 pmAnd, one more thing, I was taking pains, here and generally, not to mention the vast expanse of Michele’s caboose.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:19 pmwhich is why Compton, the Bronx, Watts, South Side Chicago, etc, are all garden spots of peace & tranquility.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:22 pmDana, what I don’t understand is why you find the reaction so offensive. Not the obvious attention seeking.
When is the last time you’ve seen a male public official (which is what I suppose Michelle Obama considers herself to be) appearing on the covers of Men’s Health, GQ, and lord knows how many magazines I never buy.
If I had to stand in line looking at Dingy Harry trying to look cool on the cover of Maxxim I’d pick his looks apart. But I don’t. I just have Michelle Obama.
Here’s two examples from January.
http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_30898179/ladies-home-journal-magazine-united-states-january-2014/
http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_30119027/weekend-magazine-greece-18-january-2014/
What? You don’t lower yourself to go to the grocery store?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:26 pmI said there was no point to it. I never said people don’t engage in pointless fighting.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:30 pmNot like the Greek magazine was at my local grocery store. Point being, I don’t think there’s been a month that’s gone by when I didn’t have to somehow, someway, look at Michelle Obama on some magazine since late 2008/early 2009.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:34 pm84. Fair enough. There is plenty to make fun of without assaulting one for the way God made them.
But seriously, I think women are far from immune to attacking other women for insufficient, sexist cause.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:40 pmRight. I’m the one making Michelle Obama the issue.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/18/michelle-obama-birthday_n_4620475.html
Or, rather, I’m the really shallow one making Michelle Obama’s looks the issue.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/17/opinion/cole-michelle-obama-fashion/index.html
I don’t see why I keep bringing it up.
http://nypost.com/2014/01/17/michelle-obama-turns-50-a-look-at-her-5-best-fashion-moments/
What with Michelle Obama shying away from the limelight and all, demanding only that everyone respect her privacy.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:42 pmSteve 57,
I think I’ve explained my point clearly. It’s not complicated.
Obviously, Mrs. Obama is a public figure. She is our First Lady, our first black first lady, devoted mother and someone that a lot of women emulate. That she’s a Democrat only ensures she will be on more magazine covers than Laura or Barbara Bush combined. With that kind of popularity, she doesn’t need to chase attention – attention will follow her.
I don’t find it bothersome or something to turn away from in the grocery line when I see her plastered on mags. Sometimes I’ll even flip through them. Again, what I personally find distasteful about her has everything to do with her politics and sanctimoniousness and nothing to do with her physicality.
Dana (9f8700) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:47 pmOT, the Texas primary: Now I see why Beldar was so polemical about people not voting in the GOP vs. Tea Party thread. Turnout in primaries at around 10%? http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/historical/70-92.shtml It’s worse than Chicago.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:56 pmYou do realize that the attention, uhh, mongering is entirely a willful act on Michelle Obama’s part? This isn’t an act of nature.
Nobody forces her to pose for a magazine cover.
You might as well accuse me of invading Lady Gaga’s privacy for giving one of her videos a bad review.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 9:59 pmThe other day Scarlet Johannson stood up for Israel versus the BDS Nazis.
If she were to take on a Conservative ideology and persona and do her homework I have no doubt whatever she’d never, ever, make 50% approval among conservative women.
Women harbor a tacit hatred toward lovelies, end of discussion.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:00 pmWomen harbor a tacit hatred toward lovelies, end of discussion.
Absolutely. But we were discussing males dishing out harsh criticism of the personal rather than the destructive policies and principles held by the public figures like Mrs. Obama.
Dana (9f8700) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:04 pmDana, this falls into the “does not compute” category.
Then
How can you fail to understand the first if you claim to understand the second? And, no, she will not inevitably be on more magazine covers. Not unless she wants to be.
A first lady can maintain a low profile if she wants to. She’s got a Secret Service detail that says so.
No. Not really. There’s a great deal of tension between the assertion that a) your professed failure to understand how Mrs. Obama’s looks became an issue and b) of course she’s appearing on fashion magazine covers!
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:12 pmSteve57,
We’re speaking about two different things: You are speaking about resentment of the combined media savvy of Mrs. Obama coupled with the media fawning over her.
To spell it out completely, my original comment pointed to and questioned why conservative males go after her physicality rather than sticking to her policies, hypocrisy (and things she wants to see become part of the transformation of America).
Dana (9f8700) — 3/4/2014 @ 10:36 pmif you eat ants on a log you will have shapely buttocks like our first lady michelle obama
http://letsmove.adcouncil.org/assets/4/adc_letsmove_ants_160x600.gif
happyfeet (8ce051) — 3/4/2014 @ 11:36 pmNo, I’m saying if she wants to be the cover girl for fashion magazines then her appearance is fair game.
I’m taking her on her on her own terms. These are her terms.
You can’t appear on the cover of Vogue and then complain that “conservative males” are unfairly targeting your looks.
Again, what’s next?
Michelle Obama appears on the cover of Muscle & Fitness and you’ll complain that “conservative males” are unfairly singling her out for not being all that ripped?
She’s not, you know.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:09 amMichelle Obama looks fine—that’s if you don’t mind female African features, which I don’t. She’s a little old for my taste, she’s married, and she’s a liberal radical … so I’ll pass, not that I was going to get the opportunity.
But harping on her looks is silly, not least of which because a lot of people consider her quite good looking. And because, as Dana said, it doesn’t matter. And it’s cheap, and beneath us, and self-destructive. I doubt the GOP has gained a vote because someone said Michelle Obama looks like a whatever.
She seems to have a big forehead. Probably correlated with her intelligence. Meh, whatever.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:19 amI guess what you’re saying, Dana, is that if Democratic women appear in fashion magazines that makes subsequent discussion of their looks beyond the pale.
I guess by that measure if Democratic women decide to give interviews to Road & Track or Motor Trend upon announcing they’ve formed a car company, then that makes subsequent discussion of the quality of their cars beyond the pale.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:19 amAnd by “us”, I mean as critics of hers, not as conservatives or what have you.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:20 amThen why do I have to look at her when I’m standing in the check out line, and have some rag tell me how damned glorious she is, if it doesn’t matter?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:21 amAnd, AGAIN, keep in mind that it wasn’t just the damned rag’s idea to tell me. Michelle Obama posed for the cover.
Which, by some bizarro logic I fail to understand, makes her looks a subject that is unsuitable for discussion.
Sort of like Lady Godiva riding nude through town.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:23 amI think it’s OK to talk about, I suppose. But some of the comments are a little unnecessary mean spirited.
Barbara Bush was probably on a few magazine covers, but I didn’t stand around knocking her looks, and if some magazine cover or other complimented her appearance at some point, I’d let it slide. Bigger fish to fry.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:28 amI guess if a Democratic woman really wanted to make discussion of her looks completely beyond the pale, she should become a lingerie model.
That’s the logic I’m seeing here.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:31 amhttp://www.bing.com/images/search?q=barbara+bush+magazine+covers&FORM=HDRSC2
Again, search on “Michelle Obama magazine covers” and select “images.”
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:34 amI’m still at a loss; how does posing for the cover of Vogue make your appearance irrelevant, again?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:36 amWell search engines weren’t that established then.
But anyway, I don’t think it’s wrong for a guy to talk about a woman’s looks in a general sense or if he’s interested in her or what have you, but to use it as a mean-spirited ad hominem of a political figure don’t impress me that much.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:39 amSurely your intellect and experience can do better than commenting on Vogue.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:40 amSo, FC, what you’re saying is that when the liberal media puts Michelle Obama on the cover of Vogue and praises her looks, to disagree is a mean spirited ad hominem?
Because that’s what I’m getting.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:41 amNot just Vogue.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:42 amThis is getting awfully close to a cult of personality.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:42 amMy main problem with it isn’t even offense it causes Michelle Obama, because I suppose anyone opens themselves up to looks comments when they go in Vogue. And she’s got a thick skin, I’d guess, and can take it, and probably won’t hear a lot of it anyway.
My main problem is it makes those criticising her looks look like d’cks—which can’t help their party’s election prospects one iota.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:43 amIt’s a simple question; is your appearance relevant if you’re going to pose for the cover of Vogue?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:43 amdisliking Michelle Obama’s policies, but not thinking she’s ugly, while not wanting to waste time and make oneself look like an arse for critising her appearance ≠ “cult of personality”
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:44 amSure, to people that care about Vogue, I guess. So knock yourself out.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:45 amIt gives me hope, FC, that the purpose of this exercise may eventually dawn upon you.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:46 amhttp://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheEmperorsNewClothes_e.html
Only d***s tell the truth about how people look in clothes.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:50 amYeah,
a metaphor about an emperor being full of sh’t
criticizing Michelle Obama’s face or body
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:55 amUnless your point is that they’re full of sh’t about how good looking she is, in which case I say, “That’s weak.”
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:56 amWhat does when search engines were established have to do with the price of guano?
I can find stuff on my ’76 International, which was built long before anyone thought of search engines.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rosalynn+carter+magazine+covers&FORM=HDRSC2
Guess what? Results for Jimmah’s wife.
Are you done being silly now?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 12:59 amOr maybe it’s about the press being pawns who report nonsense such as Michelle Obama is good looking.
But I always thought she looked fine, so that didn’t connect.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:00 amSteve, I took you at your word, but anyway, clicking it, I see Barbara Bush on several magazine covers, one calling her a silver fox and commenting on her style.
No, not fashion magazines. She was never an obvious paragon of a healthy lifestyle or anything.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:01 amI can tell by your comments @121 & 122 my hopes were misplaced. Not like you were a vessel in which I ever placed much hope, FC.
I realize you won’t grasp the point, but the coin does have two sides. PC only allows you to acknowledge one side. Michelle Obama may be praised for her beauty and stylish appearance when she appears on the cover of Vogue. Any other response is d***ish.
This has nothing to do with caring about Vogue.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:11 amI am far from PC.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:16 amI gave you the link to the search. There was no reason to take me at my word. Anybody could reproduce the results.
The same search terms on the same search engine that produced hundreds of results for Michelle Obama produced none for Barbara Bush.
So, imply I somehow mislead you if you like. But anybody can see I wasn’t lying. “Barbara Bush magazine covers” on the Bing search engine produces no results.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:17 amI don’t mean to imply you misled me. Different regional settings or something. But yeah, I saw some magazine covers she was in. I’d be shocked if she, a first lady in the 90s, hadn’t been in any.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:18 amSo, why is it acceptable to praise Michelle Obama for her looks, beauty, and taste when she’s promoted as trend setter in fashion magazines but the height of incivility to criticize her looks, beauty, and taste when she chooses to appear in fashion magazines?
Why do you thing that is?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:20 amOr shut up?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:22 amIt isn’t required at all, Steve. I just happen to think she looks pretty good for her age.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:23 amI think the biggest problems was people calling her a wookie, klingon, and so forth. Not that they don’t have the right to say it, but it doesn’t come across well.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:24 amBarbara Bush Magazine Covers Bing Search
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:30 amI’m not going to speak for anyone else. As for me, I wouldn’t be nearly so tempted to note the flaws in her appearance if I weren’t constantly being inundated with the message she’s teh most perfectest, fashionable, incredibly toned first lady we ever had.
Along with the message that We Must Agree! That really chaps my hide. But then it goes along with the Democratic party doctrine that dissent is the highest form of patriotism when out of power, conformity is the highest form of patriotism when in power.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:38 amI don’t do conformity, except by coincidence because I happen to agree with someone.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:41 amVery clever. I especially liked this one (sixth from the left, top row):
http://www.drivehq.com/file/df.aspx/publish/DCBCollectibles/MagReg/100007482.jpg
Is that the sort of coverage that compels you to equate the “Silver Fox’s” media image to Michelle Obama’s?
I mean, that was about a Barbara Bush. Close enough for you?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:47 amI didn’t equate them. I said it was false that there were zero magazine-cover results. I even said it could just be regional differences or something why we got different results. I went out of my way to point out they weren’t fashion magazines.
You’re grasping at straws over what has got to be the most trivial discussion we’ve ever had. I’m going to get some sleep. Good night.
Former Conservative (6e026c) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:56 amLet them eat rice cake!
PerfectSense (4d5c72) — 3/5/2014 @ 2:48 amHardly OT, the Empress is a diversion, despite being less than diverting:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/04/moodys-downgrades-chicagos-credit-rating-lowest-of-any-major-city-except-detroit/
It took fifty years or more for Detroit to fold. The Second City tries harder.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 3:47 amNo, as with everything, they get in our face, People, even fracking Maxim celebrates her, and glorifies her like an egyptian empress, it’s all image, and false at that, her overweaning ego, from the NR piece, is left out of the picture,
narciso (3fec35) — 3/5/2014 @ 3:53 amTeh Emperor has no clothes, while the Emperess may have too many?
Colonel Haiku (0466d2) — 3/5/2014 @ 5:52 amIn related news, a judge in Miami Beach has ruled that the public, at least that of Miami Beach, has a right to know what you look like under your clothes. Covering your genitalia is your right to privacy which you may exercise if you wish. http://www.eonline.com/news/517694/justin-bieber-s-penis-will-be-censored-in-police-videos-jail-pictures-of-his-tattoos-get-released
Good news, now I don’t have to pack much should I ever go to Miami Beach.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2014 @ 6:38 amYea, it’s not nice to snipe at Michelle Obama, but her controversial, in-your-face and very politicized speeches and statements (“first time I’ve ever been proud of my country…”) in past years, along with the way she’s been coddled by the liberal media — along with her far from being a fashion trend setter, actually being judged on various occasions by non-sycophantic observers as wearing crummy looking clothes — makes her different from previous First Ladies. Plus she has lived it up more noticeably and extravagantly — on the public’s dime — than her predecessors have done.
She has made herself (in cooperation with the dishonesty of the fawning MSM) fair game.
Mark (71f7cb) — 3/5/2014 @ 7:49 amNot that I would everyone be like me, I just don’t buy that public persons’ appearances are not germane.
It is not anti-intellectual to accept our intuitive distillation of individuals’ wholes into a congruent characterization in terms of their appearance, how their persona strikes us.
Al Smith was a live option versus FDR until the nation heard him speak via radio.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Smith
Were they wrong?
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 8:10 amSo do people here see any difference, any difference at all, between criticizing Michelle for her actions such as her insulting “Never before been proud of America” speech, or mocking her for her silly “drink water” campaign, or railing against her spendthrift ways with our tax dollars– and laughing about her “caboose”?
elissa (6fe1df) — 3/5/2014 @ 8:38 amelissa,
Michelle Obama has made fitness a big part of her platform as First Lady and body image is a part of fitness. I don’t expect a 50-year-old woman to look like a 20-year-old, and I know genetics affects how lean each body part can be … but Michelle Obama chose her platform so her appearance is relevant. It is no different than having Laura Bush pick reading as her platform and finding out she doesn’t like fiction.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 9:31 amAnd, frankly, it irritates me that the media fawns over her “toned arms” and takes pains to never photograph her from the rear. It wouldn’t bother me if she didn’t hold herself out as so fit and toned.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 9:34 am146. Undoubtedly, there is a difference. But, despite her comparative brilliance versus the Flim Flam Artiste, they are equals in a congenital lassitude.
They are unserious layabouts whose episodic transits into gravitas are programmed and artificial.
Yeah, we could consider Richard Simmons’ thoughts respectfully but to what end? The Obamas’ gravitas is entirely an accident of the political Zeitgeist.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 9:52 amI agree that women in public probably have a different standard than men,
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:01 ambut,
President Obama has taken hits too (President Momjeans, for example),
and I think it is also significant what a person tries to portray that can set them up for parody.
I don’t remember much bashing of Mrs. Bush 1 or 2, or Margaret Thatcher either. They all presented themselves as dignified, respected, mature women, and they were.
I think when one courts the limelight, the intensity reveals the flaws as well.
I don’t join in the appearance bashing, but it may be mainly because I think there are so many things of substance to protest that I don’t want to spend the battery power in my wireless keyboard (which I just had to change).
Just as a comment and to elaborate on what’s already mentioned; the main reason the Obama’s don’t use their Chicago house is because it’s insecurable.
If you look inside of a 3-4 block area, there are dozens of buildings, some public, which have roof and window overlooks that view the Obama’s house. No matter the disruption, they cannot all be secured.
And so, I think they’ve only spent 3 days at the house so far.
luagha (5cbe06) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:14 amluagha–Thank you for taking the time to post your sane and knowledgeable comment with respect to this topic of presidential homes and city neighborhoods. A topic, I’d add, in which the goal posts were wildly moved several times last night during the “discussion”.
elissa (6fe1df) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:24 amFC @138 didn’t notice he used Bush 43’s daughters Barbara and Jenna to make it appear that the MFM paid lots of attention to First Lady Barbara Bush, wife of Bush 41.
And it was negative coverage about their underage drinking.
Which brings me to another angle on this rampant hypocrisy (the Empress can be praised for her looks as she appears in Glamor, Vogue, Conde Nast, etc., but criticism of her looks is off limits).
Liberals can bring up their own children all the time, even use them as stage props like Bill de Blasio used his 16 year old son Dante in New York (look at how diverse my family is! Barack Obama, “That’s the ‘fro I wish I had in the ’70s [look at how diverse his family is!]”), yet if anyone mentions or refers to it then they are somehow violating the sacrosanct principle that children are off limits.
Yet conservatives’ children are never off limits no matter how much they try to keep them in the background. On Letterman rape jokes about Willow Palin are always good for a laugh.
Unlike the Bush twins, if Malia Obama sneaks a drink while on Spring Break in Cancun you’d never hear about it from the MFM. It wouldn’t be on that People cover like the one about the Bush twins Barbara and Jenna and their underage drinking. The cover FC thought was about the elder Barbara Bush.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:27 amReturning to the thrust of Rico’s post, it would be one thing if Amerikkka incurred this expense for the edification of WH tenants, quite another if they were to develop relations with Chinese citizens, an appreciation for its history and culture and leverage the experience into an initiative with China at some level.
In fact, a third, unnecessary outcome will result. The Obama ladies are just farting around and the profit will be no more substantive than traipsing about Neiman Marcus at the Mall.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:28 amTheir pictures taken upon the Great Wall will be awesome, though, gg. And worth a few media pixels during primary season and the Obamacare signup deadline.
elissa (6fe1df) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:34 amLiberals would consider my earlier comment and any mention of Michelle Obama’s body as racist, even though white First Ladies have been criticized, too. An Alabama football coach was even suspended from his job for 10 days for a comment.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:45 amLiberals would consider my earlier comment and any mention of Michelle Obama’s body as racist, even though white First Ladies have been criticized, too.
Well then, DRJ, I’ll join you in the reeducation camp. It pains me that American publications take front views of Michelle Obama — her butt is prettier than her face.
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:53 amThank you, nk. I don’t really care about her body. I care about her hypocrisy and the hypocrisy of the media that tries to make her seem so perfect.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:56 am155. There is that. I have to admit, something in me genuinely likes Mooch and obviously its not her mind.
Maybe this Summer while I laze away an afternoon on the lake while kiddo plays, it’ll come to me.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 10:59 amGeorge Bush I visited a convent in N. Philly in the middle of a crowded urban ghetto.
But I imagine trying to secure something on short notice for 1 afternoon is different than securing a known location long term.
But I don’t think we begrudge them not using their Chicago home, it’s just that Camp David is probably pretty nice most of the time.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 3/5/2014 @ 11:21 amI bet George W would even let them come stay at the ranch for a lot less…. but maybe they sold it, IIRC
We all know that’s not going to happen.
A trip to Neiman Marcus at a local Mall will do less damage to foreign relations than the royal Obamas typically do.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/g8-summit/obama-girls-malia-and-sasha-unimpressed-with-holiday-in-ireland-29357242.html
When the first family travels abroad, they represent America. That’s just a fact. And if the first family leaves the impression that they’re a bunch of entitled, uncultured boors, who treat the locals as peasants as they foul traffic with their giant motorcades hauling their giant entourages through the temporary, Soviet-style Zhil lanes they insist on having.
You do realize that actual Royalty doesn’t travel like the Obamas, right? According to the above figures, their single trip to Africa in 2013 cost the taxpayers $100M. I don’t know what the annual travel budget for the British Royal family was in 2013, but in 2012 it was 4.7 million GBP. According to my currency converter, that’d be $78.6M. So the annual budget for the entire Royal family wouldn’t cover one of the Obama’s trips.
When Prince William and Kate visited Canada they did so with an “entourage” of seven people. When Michelle Obama visited Ireland she had to book 30 rooms.
When Will and Kate visited Canada this is what they flew on.
http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/aircraft-current/cc-150.page?
Since the Canadians only have five of these cargo planes, a militarized version of the Airbus A-310, for all we know they could have flown on one of the tanker versions.
If you’ve ever flown on one of these types of aircraft then you know that the aircraft is equipped with steel floors and rollers to accommodate standard commercial pallets. But they can be equipped with passenger modules that can be inserted, or medevac pallets, or what have you. And those can take up all or part of the aircraft depending on if you need to transport some cargo as well. The Tanker version would essentially just have an air to air refueling module they could carry in the cargo bays, as well as a few modifications to the airframe to accommodate the operator as well as to deploy the refueling drogues.
The VIP modules are not luxurious, unless your definition of luxurious includes the kind of stuff you’d find in an E-5’s apartment. When the Royals came out to visit, the RCAF sent one of their aircrew to the mall to pick up a new comforter and matching pillows for the bed. She bought a set that was on sale for such a good price, the RCAF Master Corporal picked up a second set for herself.
European Royals, unlike the Obama’s are raised from birth to perform their ceremonial role. And a huge part of that role is not offending people. Instead, they are supposed to represent their country in a positive way.
The Obamas?
They act exactly the way elissa describes abroad as well as here. And the thing is, as MD in Philly notes his base doesn’t mind at all. In fact, they like it. And, again, when the Obamas travel abroad they aren’t there to promote American interests. They’re (well, at least Barack) playing to a domestic political base using the foreign environment as backdrop.
Those pesky foreigners tend not to like that, even in Africa.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 11:31 amMeant to end that with a question mark.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 11:34 am161. Well, when you put it that way all the mirth flits away.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:07 pmSorry. I’ve always been a real buzz kill.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:13 pmTo quote a line from Shakespeare,
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:17 pm“Me thinks the lady doth
proteststravels too much.”MD 150:
Laura was based for both her poor style and her midriff bulge.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:38 pmLaura was bashed, not based.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:38 pmhttp://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/153717/michelle_obama_is_a_single
She’s just so normal.
A busy working mom raising two children.
She actually feels like a single mom, what with Barry being so busy with…golfing. And, uh, more golfing. And fundraising.
It must be such a struggle trying to raise your two kids all by your lonesome. And 18 employees on your personal staff.
What single mom doesn’t take multimillion dollar vacations every other month to alleviate the stress?
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:43 pmthe 300 K sinecure, kicking sick people out of U of Chicago hospital, all too stressful
narciso (3fec35) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:49 pmThanks for the correction, DRJ. I guess I didn’t pay them any attention. (Of course, had I stopped to think, since she was married to George W. Bush, the evil liar incarnate, I would have guessed they said all manner of evil).
Come to think of it, they were pretty mean to Condi Rice, but then again, she had the nerve to be a Black, female, Republican.
MD in Philly (f9371b) — 3/5/2014 @ 1:52 pmAt the risk of piling on, here’s another example:
The text accompanies a photo of the rear of Laura Bush climbing stairs.
Are things like this tasteful and fair? No, but this is politics. Politics isn’t always tasteful and fair.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 3/5/2014 @ 2:12 pm171. Someone has issues, probably stemming from attending Sunday school while the cool chicks were hanging at the Mall.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 3/5/2014 @ 2:44 pmgrifters con artists who reward the critical IT contract to their college roommate, who deign to tell us what to eat, when to exercise, ala 1984,
narciso (3fec35) — 3/5/2014 @ 2:52 pmSpeaking of moving the goalposts, the issue was spending. It adds to the per trip expense when a President and/or first family keeps using different rental properties and hotels for their every-other-month-vaycays instead of using Camp David or returning each time to one of their own properties where the WH Communications Agency, the SS, and staff are already familiar with the set-up and have well established local contacts.
It doesn’t magically make it cheaper to point out that this President’s Hyde Park home is more difficult to secure.
You say it’s impossible to secure?
So is George W. Bush’s home in the Preston Hollow section of Dallas.
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/images/highwayInfo/dnt/roadside/bush/10151_daria_place_wide_map.gif
http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/uncat/preston-hollow.jpg
http://www.oscarmail.net/dfwfreeways/images/highwayInfo/dnt/roadside/bush/dnt_20090104_IMG_5880%20_10141_daria_wide_hires.jpg
http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/090410/GAL-09Apr10-1867/media/PHO-09Apr10-157830.jpg
It’s not possible to make everything absolutely secure.
Now, it’s true that since this isn’t the place the SS got used to securing when Bush43 was in office that there would have been some minimal additional expense when the Bushes transitioned to private life than had they retired to their Crawford ranch. But since the WHCA and the entire entourage was no longer a factor, just the SS security detail, we’re not talking much.
Again, the reasons why the Obamas don’t use their Chicago home is entirely irrelevant to the issue of the cost of their travel.
Steve57 (2991b6) — 3/5/2014 @ 3:49 pm“A walk down memory lane regarding Obama’s spendthrift nature…”
Come come now, Patterico. Regarding spending other people’s money, for the Obamas, walking down memory lane only leads to coasting onto Easy Street.
Kenneth Simmons (a10c17) — 3/7/2014 @ 6:06 pm