Posted on 08/03/2009 6:09:58 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Recently, high-profile visitors to the White House, including senior corporate executives, have found themselves paying for their own meals when sitting down with President Barack Obama, something unheard of in previous White Houses, according to former aides to President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton.
Thus far, there have been at least three instances -- the most recent coming last Friday -- where CEOs or other non-political guests were asked before arriving to the West Wing to provide credit card information so that their meals could be billed to them. According to one source, the meals cost between $20 and $40. "That's not including tip," the current White House aide quipped.
The White House has officially stated that reason to charge for the meals is to remove any appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest, according to a statement put out by White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. But there are no rules barring the President from buying lunch for guests, whether through the White House budget or his own wallet.
In fact, those presidential employees with guest privileges at the White House dining room, known as the "mess," cannot charge their guests' lunch to White House accounts. With a few exceptions, all employees pay for their guests out of their own pocket.
So, with no ethics issue barring the President from buying his guests lunch, what are the reasons? According to another White House source, the Obama Administration in its first 200 days may have burned through much of its budgets for the Executive Residence and the White House's annual entertainment account.
"We've done a lot more entertaining than previous administrations have," says the White House aide. "The whispering here is that we're over budget and where we can, we're trying to save money."
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
The bigger issue is that Obama can’t stick to a budget. He just spends until the money runs out. Its what him and Bill Ayers did at the Annenburg Foundation and its what he is doing with the Federal budget.
Barbarians at the gates, vulgarians in the White House.
I think he knows he may not be there long so he is getting all he can out of it.
Nights on the town in NYC and Paris cost a lot of money. Let the capitalists pay foe their own freaking meals, Michelle and I are now on easy street and are enjoying spending all that taxpayer money on our slightest whim.
Budgeting just isn't one of the Obama administrations strong points, if they have any strong points.
"We've done a lot more entertaining than previous administrations have," says the White House aide. "The whispering here is that we're over budget and where we can, we're trying to save money."
That is typical, utter bullshit. This is merely this "president"'s method of putting his guests in their place. Little gestures of rudeness like this add up to big enmity, which isn't forgiven easily, if at all. This clown had better watch his step, or his term in office may be shorter and much more difficult than he had imagined.
Maybe we can all just “eat cake!”
If Obama needs to curtail costs, let the members of Congress and other Dem political cronies pay for THEIR meals.
Obama spends his entertainment budget on Dems and the Bwack Caucus. If you are from the greedy business social class, or are in auto industry management, and NOW if your are in the Health Care industry, you must pay for your own meal at the white house.( Remember the lobster Snacks on the Campaign Trail in New York City?)
This is typical self righteous Utopian idjit manners.If there is no hospitality, its because Obama wants to disempower his "guests."
Hell, I wouldn't eat in the White House without a professional food taster by my side.Meals from fascists? You couldn't pay me enough to eat Obama food. (It would just be puked up anyway.)
And I certainly would never have eaten anything cooked on a grill by Bill Clinton either, ( no telling where his hands had just been.)
Gee, what a surprise.
/sarc
Zero's mother-in-law. She lives at the WH off of OUR dime!!!
I had to keep going back to checking the source and still found it hard to believe this was a genuine article, not onion or scrappleface.
It’s exactly what they’re doing to the economy. Borrowing up front zillions of dollars and not having anything (or much) left at the end.
whe ObaMao threw the grand whiskey bash at the White House, Stevie Wonderless and Hollyweird Celebrities, they paid for their own booze?
And did Barry pay for the Pizza flown in from St Louis on Air Force One, out of his own pocket? Or how about all of the wonderful date nights he and his over fashioned wife have spent millions on?
I don't think so. I may be wrong, but I believe the 0bama's pay for their own food. Labor as in cooks, waiters is likely free.
The members of the state-owned media:
However, when journalists were feted with other friends of the White House on the South Lawn last month, with dunk tanks, food and drink, they were not asked to pay for their entertainment
What did it cost taxpayers for Michelle and the girls to go for Fish and Chips in London?
(Never give a community organizer a presidents job.)
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