State Department buys $70,000 worth of Obama memoir (Huh??)

Washington Times ^ | 10-25-11 | Jim McElhatton

[STARWISE]

The U.S. Department of State has bought more than $70,000 worth of books authored by President Obama, sending out copies as Christmas gratuities and stocking “key libraries” around the world with “Dreams from My Father” more than a decade after its release.

The U.S. embassy in Egypt, for instance, spent $28,636 in August 2009 for copies of Mr. Obama’s bestselling 1995 memoir. Six weeks earlier, the embassy had placed another order with the same book seller, Kalemat Arabia, for more than $9,000 for copies of the same book, federal purchasing records show.

Around the same time, halfway around the world, the U.S. embassy in South Korea had the same idea, spending more than $6,000 for copies of “Dreams from My Father”.

One month later, the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, spent more than $3,800 for hardcover copies of the Indonesian version of Mr. Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope,” records show.

A review of the expenditures in a federal purchasing database did not reveal any examples of past purchases by the State Department of books by President Bush or President Clinton. The purchases of Mr. Obama’s literary work mostly, but not always, took place in the months after Mr. Obama captured the White House.

Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, said if the federal government is looking to cut costs, eliminating purchases of Mr. Obama’s books is a good place to start.

“It’s inappropriate for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be spent on this,” she said. “This sounds like propaganda.”

[STARWISE]

Sheesh .. giving him $$ from book sales while propagandizing, too? Such an insidious cabal (or maybe she's playing too cagey, plotting her own run?)

[STARWISE]

.. Ping!

[ronnie raygun]

Want to relive the memory if what could have been. Sorry a## delusional misfits

[aquila48]

This administration is corrupt to the core... and flaunts it!

[tgusa]

I hope there is at least one Pubbie left with enough brains and spine to be keeping a list of all these blatant, egregious wastes of OUR tax dollars. Next time the Senate needs to filibuster, this list should take longer to read than the New York phone book.

[353FMG]

The man deserves some extra income while he is in the WH.

Expect a “ROOMS BY THE HOUR” sign over the WH soon.

[IbJensen]

The government and the regime that easy to hate!

[StAntKnee]

Not waste, but illegal behavior and a massive conflict of interest.

His administration is buying from him and enriching him personally with tax funds.

Wrong! Enethical. Immoral And. Not even a close call.

[douginthearmy]

BFD! Obama has taken BILLIONS in taxpayer money and given it to companies that support him. Those execs then take FAT bonuses (even if the company goes bankrupt) and donate FAT checks to Obama campaign. He will raise a billion dollars and republicans better be ready for a serious fight regardless of how bad the economy is. I am absolutely convinced Obama has funneled taxpayer monies into his coffers. $70K is a single check.

[matt04]

Amazon sells the paperback for $10 and the hard cover for $17. That’s at least four thousand copies.

[Bender2]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Wright

In 1988 Democrat Speaker of the House Jim Wright became the target of an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee. Their report in early 1989 implied that he had used bulk purchases of his book, Reflections of a Public Man, to earn speaking fees in excess of the allowed maximum, and that his wife, Betty, was given a job and perks to avoid the limit on gifts. Faced with an increasing loss of effectiveness, Wright tendered his resignation as Speaker on May 31, 1989, the resignation to become effective on the selection of a successor. He was the first Speaker to resign because of a scandal.

Gadzooks! If this is true... can soon we expect President zerO to resign??

[ColdOne]

WTF? Honestly just when I think I have heard everything with this crew, something else comes out. Yet they will get away with this as well.

[StAntKnee]

Yes, ENethical, which is 10X worse than UNethical.

Okay, I messed up, but that was an obama attempt at recovery. Not a bad imitation, huh?

[GeronL]

government buying Obama’s book from a Muslim book seller?

[Red Badger]

Can you imagine the hue and cry if a Republican pulled this stunt?.........

[Tai_Chung]

There’s no indication the White House knew about the purchases...

A White House spokesman did not respond to email messages.

If it were President Bush, then entire press corps would ask questions.

[Signalman]

“The State Dept. buys”.

Translation: The American taxpayer buys.

[Digger]

Not waste, but illegal behavior and a massive conflict of interest. His administration is buying from him and enriching him personally with tax funds. Wrong! Enethical. Immoral And. Not even a close call.

Get over it. Just admit to yourselves that we are a Banana Republic. Then it all falls in place.

[NativeNewYorker]

“This sounds like propaganda.”

[dead]

Didn't I already buy enough of Bill Ayers' book for American schools and libraries?

Now, I'm buying more to sit, unread on bookshelves in Korea and Jakarta.

Global Boardwalk Empire.