Posted on 02/21/2011 7:38:16 AM PST by FTJM
It has been almost a month and a half since the Obama family returned from 10 days in Oahu. With all the breastfeeding advice she's been giving out lately, an exhausted First Lady is long overdue for some R & R.
Relinquishing her role as tireless workaholic, Michelle decided to revisit last year's mother/daughter ski trip to the Ski Liberty Resort in Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania. Only this year, the Obama women have taken to the slopes in Vail, Colorado on a "private family trip" accompanied by "several close friends."
When unveiling his budget, Michelle's husband reminded Americans, "Everybody's going to have to give a little bit." The President even suggested: "If you're a family trying to cut back, you might skip going out to dinner, you might put off a vacation."
According to Obama, "Just like every family in America, the federal government has to ... live within its means." Which is exactly what Mrs. Obama is doing, spending time with her daughters at a resort that is much more modest than she's used to.
Actually, the whole excursion to Vail Mountain is one of self-sacrifice. According to administration officials, the First Lady and friends are merely "chaperoning...children on a ski trip," otherwise Michelle would likely be home hunkered down, tirelessly working in the "Let's Move" office of the White House.
On a tight budget, the ski trip is but a few steps above a school-sponsored field trip. The chaperones are staying at the Sebastian Hotel, where lodging starts at "$605 per night ... and head north of $2,000 for multi-bedroom suites." Those rates are certainly more modest than the $6,600 a night Mrs. Obama was rumored to have spent at the Hotel Villa Padierna in Costa del Sol.
The Sebastian touts "spas, a Frost Bar, a Market for nibbles, a mountain-view pool, hot tubs and a fire pit." A bevy of ski valets assist patrons "into warm boots and out onto the mountain," which is just the kind of pared-down amenity that penny-pinchers across America can easily relate to.
Michelle arrived with "A motorcade of about a dozen vehicles, including 15 state and local law enforcement officers, traveled from the Eagle County Regional Airport to Vail...Roads were temporarily blocked to make way for the motorcade."
Despite the extravagant entourage, when it comes to frugality Mrs. Obama is a pro. A flight from DC to Colorado is 1,700 miles and takes approximately 3 hours. Although the First Lady usually employs a large Air Force jet to ferry her from vacation spot to vacation spot, this time she answered the call to live within the Obama family means in the following way: To save money, instead of Air Force One, which costs about $100,000 per hour to fly, Michelle chose a less expensive jet.
Not including the weight of ski equipment, a fair guesstimation would be that the Michelle Vail Vacation one-way flight cost much less than what would otherwise have set the American taxpayer back $300,000.
Moreover, Michelle's savvy decision to travel as often as possible without Barack also eliminates about 180 pounds of excess baggage weight, and in the long run helps in tamping down overall costs.
As an added budgetary bonus, the President joined Michelle in setting an example of prudence. Barry saved coaching fees for Sasha's basketball team when another coach failed to show up. Although Sasha was on the bunny slope with Mom in Vail, our thrifty President paused stirring up union trouble in Wisconsin long enough to serve America as a "parent coach" for a team of nine year-old girls, and selflessly did it for free.
my stomach turns every time I hear, read or see that hag
22 months to go.
Does she wear a fur lined breast belt when skiing? Just ask’n.
But at least none of this opulence was funded by Filthy Corporate Profits.
Like NPR and PBS, this junket was funded by Y O U.
Aren’t you proud to pitch in?
Most leftists have no trouble with this,
because they’ve bought into the “elitist” mindset,
and for some reason, think that when everything comes to pass,
they’ll also be in line for the heated boots on the ski slope.
How big was the posse that went along? At our expense.
Amen, brother.
This regime is acting like they’re Third World dictators.
To be fair to the two Obama girls... I can see their schoolmates at their posh private school going on about their family ski vacations. So the two girls lobbied for one. Only problem is the taxpayers are stuck shelling out hundreds of thousands
Yea instead of eating 15 big mac’s she will only eat 14, a small fry and a diet pepsi.
Touche. Was this actually ghost written by Coulter.
“Most leftists have no trouble with this,
because they’ve bought into the “elitist” mindset,”
People everywhere, but Americans in particular seem to long for royalty. It seems to me that about 52% of Americans would be thrilled to annoint a couple as King and Queen of America.
Look how fascinated Americans are with British royalty.
22 taxpayer paid vacations to go.
The last time we went on vacation was 11 years ago.
They are just acting, proportionately, as we see any democRat politician acting anywhere from the municiple level all the way up.
Elected office is the ticket to “livin’ large” at others’ expense.
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