They complained the last time he took a smaller jet too.
Posted on 02/02/2006 11:15:13 AM PST by presidio9
President Bush is one of the biggest gas guzzlers in the country and his first stop to sell the idea of breaking the nation's oil addiction burned up thousands of gallons of jet fuel and hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The White House, Air Force and Secret Service keep a tight hold on the President's travel and mileage, but government and industry figures show that the Air Force One 747 jet gets less than the equivalent of a mile per gallon.
The President usually travels with a backup 747 as well as a huge C-17 aircraft packed with the presidential limo and the Marine One helicopter, which flies Bush from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base and around destination cities.
The C-17 gets even worse mileage than the 747s, and the chopper's mileage is pegged at .014 mpg.
Once on the ground, the President travels in a gas-gulping convoy. At the heart of that convoy are two Cadillac limos and several Chevy Suburbans.
Even without the bulletproof shields and other special measures, the limos get 18 mpg in the city.
The Suburbans get 15 mpg in the city, but that too is without the bullet- and blast-proofing and the communications gear the Secret Service and military travel with. Three to five Suburbans travel in a motorcade, which often stretches to more than a dozen vehicles.
Bush's 700-mile trip to give his State of the Union encore speech in Nashville yesterday cost $19,594.25 in fuel alone just for Air Force One, according to government figures.
He will carry his message over the next few days to Maplewood, Minn., Albuquerque and Dallas before heading back to Washington. That's another 4,341 miles.
Sure it was a PR stunt, but it saved the taxpayer $$$. Probably encouraged his phlebitis...
"Our President should drive himself around the country in a Prius..."
Works for me. Seriously, over the years, our presidents have steadily ramped up the amount of truck they drag with themselves all over the world to a regal, wasteful level. Half of the freight and entourage could be dropped with no loss in security.
To the liberals, Clinton walked on water to Europe.
They complained the last time he took a smaller jet too.
Yeah, but how many press people get a free ride on Air Force One?
I'll never forget my amusement seeing AlGore arrive for a campaign appearance in 2000 - in a giant SUV, with an entourage of about 10 more giant SUVs. Whatever.
No mention of Klinton's trips which broke the bank when it came to gas. I remember he took over in excess of 1000 people for his trip to China.
And think of all the energy (not including all the precious trees) that could be saved by not publishing newspapers filled with this kind of crap.
"The hotel in china where I stayed had perfectly clean bathrooms. I didn't observe anything like your picture. Still, that's plenty nice for Hillary."
Then you stayed at a hotel that caters to westerners. Next time you go, experience it like you're from China and you'll be surprised at what you'll sometimes find.
Of course, if he stayed at the White House, they'd be saying he is in "hunker down" mode and "out of touch" with the people...the list goes on.
Let's face it...with the Dems and MSM, Bush is the one person in this world who NEVER does anything right and ALWAYS does everything wrong
I'm certain of that. I stayed at the Beijing Hotel and the (at that time Sheraton) Great Wall Hotel. Disco and everything at the Great Wall. The kids who worked there would sneak behind the curtains and dance with us.
Does anyone but me remember that Her Exalted Royal Thighness Queen Hillary the First brought her own santiary facilities with her on her royal visit to China, because she didn't think the lowly Chinee could figure out how to clean a toilet?
He actually does bike quite a lot. And when he does, the media bitches about how he's overly obsessed with physical fitness and spends too much time working out.
And his Grumman Gulfstream and his fleet of SUVs--oh, silly me, those belong to Tah-rezz-uh.
Indeed, Bubba set the record. W is a complete piker by comparison in the gas guzzling dept.
bttt
I'll not criticize the president over his fuel usage until I see the Hollywood elite turn in their private jets and fly coach--yeah, that'll happen
See my reply #15 above.
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