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Posted on 12/30/2010 9:19:30 AM PST by jakerobins
President Obama and his family are enjoying a delightful Christmas vacation with friends and family in the chief executive's home state of Hawaii.
Nobody questions a president's right or need to take take away from the White House, but an investigation by Hawaii Reporter has turned up some eye-opening information about the costs and other aspects of the Obama get-away.
* Mrs. Obama’s early flight to Hawaii: $63,000 (White House Dossier)
* Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii: $1 million (GAO estimates)
* Housing in beachfront homes for Secret Service and Seals in Kailua ($1,200 a day for 14 days): $16,800
* Costs for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel: $134,400 ($400 per day for 24 staff) – excluding meals and other room costs
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
of course it’s on our money.
He just wanted to stay out of the east coast snowstorm, he didn’t want to be inconvenienced by that top-notch snow removal program in NYC.
...ah, the high life...
How many “home states” does he get? Is he registered to vote there? How come he isn’t vacationing in his home state of Illinois?
Grifters and phonies.
Mele Kalekemaka!
Or in Kenya..Indonesia....POH-KI-STAN....LOL
They deserve it. All the pressure and hard work..... (/end sarcasm)
Nothing like 2,550 miles to keep Code Pink from protesting the Afgan war is there.
You wouldn't want to stay in a dump like the White House either if you were as important as me
But that $1.47 million figure leaves out a number of signficant costs that simply could not be calculated by Hawaii Reporter:
* Rental of office building in Kailua on canal
* Security upgrades and additional phone lines.
* Costs for car rentals and fuel for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel (Secret Service imports most of the cars used here to escort the president).
* Surveillance before the president arrives.
* Travel costs for Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President.
White House spokesmen insist Obama's vacation expenses are in line with those of previous presidents, which may well be true, but, since the government refuses to disclose many important details about any presidential journey, nobody can know for sure.
There appear to be reasons to suspect the Obamas' trip could have been done for less, according to Hawaii Reporter.
"The president visits the military base daily to workout, bowl with his kids or enjoy the more private beach there. He also could have stayed at a home 15 minutes away on the beach fronting Bellows Air Force Base as President Bill Clinton did."
But Obama and friends opted instead to secure use of three luxury beachfront places, including the “Winter White House” – or Kailua home that the president rents two weeks a year.
That facility, Hawaii Reporter, noted, normally rents for an estimated $3,500 a day or $75,000 a month, according to the web site Gadling.com.
The latter describes the place as a “7,000 square foot home [that] features 5 bedrooms, 5 ½ bathrooms, a media room with surround sound, a kitchen suited for a master chef, a dining room and great room, a secluded lagoon-style pool with tropical waterfalls and a lavish island spa. The ocean lanai and garden lanai showcase ornate landscaping and stunning views of Kailua Bay and Mount Olomana.”
Did you read any of the comments after the article? LOL - some idiot in VT is claiming that President Bush cost us so much but the Obama’s can afford to pay for their own vacations! Seriously, he thinks the Obams were independently wealthy -
When you are born in Kenya, all 57 states can be your home state!
Oh sorry to all you media lurkers. I forgot we are not supposed to question anything he does, flagrant spending, trips to Spain, asinine monetary policy, one vacation after the next etc.
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