WaPo's Ruth Marcus: Unfair attacks on Michelle Obama's Spanish vacation

Washington Post ^ | August 6, 2010 | Ruth Marcus

[maggief]

Let's stipulate: A five-star resort on the Spanish Costa del Sol was probably not the first choice of White House spin-meisters for a mother-daughter getaway. Especially when the getaway included a posse of 40 friends of the first lady staying at the Hotel Villa Padierna, where rooms start at $330 a night, and photos of Michelle Obama strolling in Marbella wearing an off-the-shoulder number by Jean Paul Gaultier.

"The first lady is on a private trip," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. "She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I'd leave it at that."

He wishes.

Technically, the first lady may be a private citizen. In actuality, she isn't. She can't be; see, for example, the Secret Service contingent that accompanies her, private trip or not private trip. This is a simple fact of modern presidential family life.

So as a political matter, the trip to Spain was not a good idea. You don't need Dick Morris -- who famously polled the Clintons' vacation plans and pushed Jackson Hole over Martha's Vineyard -- to tell you it's not going to play well at a time of 9.5 percent unemployment.

[Kakaze]

77 trips to texas, to a home that was equipped for a President to do business, Security was set and maintained.

Running all over the world requires a hell of a lot of advance planning and staff, going to your ranch is just that, going to the ranch

The obamas are like lottery winners with out one once of sense or forethought.

[Liberty Valance]

See America first ...

Laura Bush walked down the concrete boat ramp at Almeda Park with four lifelong friends from Midland, Texas, to begin a three-day raft trip down the wild and scenic Rogue River. “We travel together all the time. We love national parks, and we like to do rivers too,” Bush said. “We’ve been adventurous all our lives.”

Brad Niva, owner of "Rogue Wilderness" is the company taking Bush & company down the wild and scenic Rogue River. Niva said the company kept the trip quiet for a few months for Bush's sake. "We are very pleased and excited to have her choose Grants Pass and Southern Oregon as her vacation destination." Soon they were floating down the Rogue through Almeda and Argo rapids, heading for the Rogue Rivers' wild section. "We're just thrilled to be here," Laura Bush said. Laura Bush's next stop: Crater Lake National Park.

[GunningForTheBuddha]

George W. Bush made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford

Over eight years, not eighteen months. And I'd bet all 77 trips together cost less than this "party for 40" that MarieAntoinetteMaBelle's on.

Not to mention that Bush also had a full executive office at the ranch. Where he could do "like work 'n stuff".

[Crawdad]

Has Marcus been drinking? Just the other day she wrote a column saying how out-of-touch the Obamas were becoming. Now she writes this. I guess someone got her back to writing the party line on the Obamas.

She must have found the new meeting place for the Journolistas.

[kcvl]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V2EmhfRfoQ4/SaTc-jlU9gI/AAAAAAAACxM/DgEXZMLBp-k/s400/FTC+Jon+Leibowitz.bmp

Marcus met her husband in the classic Washington way: She was covering the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas and he was working for a senator on the Judiciary Committee.

Her husband, Jon Leibowitz, is a Democrat who is now (having been selected by President Obama) chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

[dfwgator]

Normally, I wouldn’t care.

But these are the same people that told everybody else to take their vacations on the Gulf of Mexico.

And also it’s incredibly politically tone deaf. It wouldn’t be so bad if it cost the taxpayers so much money at least if that money was being spent here in the US, instead of abroad.

[shalom aleichem]

I’m certainly past tired of these media pukes making up excuses for dear leader and his frau. How in H can she “stipulate” that it was not the first choice of WH to stay in a 5* hotel?! It is probably exactly what happened. M-My-Belle probably summoned up her ladies in waiting to fetch her some travel literature, went through it and said I wanna stay in the best GD hOtel in the country, and I want the executive suite, and 30 more de-lux rooms for my secret admirers. Every thing these people have done is ostentatious (but de classe). They’re like kids in a candy store. I want this, I want that...

[basil]

Good grief! I guess it’s a male thing, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to look at ms obammy’s boobs.

[Jim Scott]

Typical Obama defense: "Bush was even worse!" Please.

President Bush spent the majority of his vacations at his own home in Texas. Big difference. Not that the Obamamedia would ever admit it. This is why nobody trusts the Obamamedia.

[FrankR]

Look, it doesn't matter what Ruth Marcus says, most everyone can plainly see what the obamas are doing and how they are ripping off the taxpayers playing "good time charlie".

I refuse to let some butchy, WaPo columnist piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining.

I think madamemichelle knows her boy ain't gonna last and is getting in all the gusto she can get before this gravy train grinds to a halt.

She's milking the national cow for all it's worth, and so is obama; I think he's slinking away a lot of that TARP/Stimulus money overseas and when he's got enough to becomes SOROS II, he'll resign the presidency and move on.

[a fool in paradise]

Rooms at Crawford Ranch are $300 a night?

[Tzimisce]

I think when you spread the wealth around* it's good for everybody.

Barack Obama

* - your wealth, not mine

[Carley]

Miss Poo Poo speaks and tells us we have no right to speak.

[Paladin2]

"We want names."

I'd think that the paparazzi would be all over this and that Spanish, UK and US tabloids would be combing the pics to ferret out just who has been deputized.

[dfwgator]

She's having a lunch with the Spanish king to make it an official visit so the government will pick up the entire cost of the airplane. I wonder who covers the Secret Service costs? Sure they would collect their normal wage here in the U.S., but there are per diem costs for hotels and meals, plus they are probably working a lot of overtime hours which increase the cost for Michelle to have a foreign vacation.

"Let's hear it for the Rainbow Tour..."

[Ann Archy]

FTC Governor???? Yikes.

[tsmith130]

George W. Bush made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford

The operative word there is HIS ranch. Housing costs the US Taxpayers nothing. Do the Obama's own the Ritz in Spain?

[Nachum]

Anybody know if Ruth Marcus is a member of JournoList?

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

It was true when George W. Bush made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford and spent all or part of 490 days there during his presidency, according to CBS News' Mark Knoller, official tallier of presidential downtime.

The difference is that Bush actually went HOME (and still WORKED) whereas the Obama's are jet-setting all over the globe, and mostly at taxpayer expense, while doing nothing else except partying.

[Nosterrex]

At a time when the actual unemployment in this country is close to 20%, Michelle Obama must have a tin ear. You would think that the Obama’s would have learned something from John Kerry's elitism. After 2012 the Obama’s can go on as many vacations as they want to wherever they want and no one will care.