Obamas set new record for vacation travel expenses; stonewalled documents finally rel

[MadJack]

It took filing a lawsuit, but Judicial Watch discovered Friday that President Obama has set a new record for travel on the taxpayer dime.
The conservative watchdog group obtained travel records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force that show the Obamas racked up $7.4 million during just three trips in 2013 ? in flight expenses only.
The records, revealed Friday, include the Obama family?s Christmas vacation in Hawaii from Dec. 21, 2012, to Jan. 5, 2013. During that stay, the president took a short break and flew back to Washington to work on a budget deal, then returned for the rest of his vacation.

Photo credit: Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip​

​

The second trip was in early August, 2013, when Obama flew to California for a private fundraiser with DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, then appeared with Jay Leno on the ?Tonight Show.? Later that month, the Obama family vacationed in Martha?s Vineyard, Mass.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in August 2013, after repeated stonewalling by the White House. The group reported:

* The outbound flight to Honolulu for the Obamas? 2012-13 Christmas vacation cost taxpayers $2, 214, 393.60. The return flight to Washington cost $1,871,961.60. Flight expenditures alone came to $4,086,355.20.
* The outbound flight to California in August, 2013 for Obama to dine with Katzenberg and appear on the ?The Tonight Show? cost taxpayers $1,209,926.40. The return flight to Washington cost $935,980.80. Flight expenditures alone came to $2,145,907.20.
* The outbound flight to Martha?s Vineyard for the Obama family?s August vacation cost taxpayers $890,323.20. The return flight to Washington cost $273,945.60. Flight expenditures alone came to $1,164,268.80.
* The grand total of $7,396,531.20, Judicial Watch pointed out, only accounted for flight expenses for the three trips.
​

?The fact is, the Obamas are abusing the public trust and the taxpayers with unnecessary luxurious vacations and travel,? Judicial Watch said in its report. ?These staggering costs show why these documents were covered-up and we had to sue in federal court to get them. Another transparency fail for the Obama gang, but thanks to our federal lawsuit it is another accountability win for the American taxpayer.?

 

[MadJack]

Cost of Obama?s Trip is Dwarfed By George And Laura Bush?s Africa Spending Spree

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​

As conservatives rage about the cost of Obama?s Africa trip, it is important to remember that George and Laura Bush made a combined 7 trips to Africa all on the taxpayers? dime.
We?ve played this game before, but anytime the nation?s first black president spends more than a dollar, the right wing freaks out about Barack Obama ?wasting taxpayer dollars.? Back in 2011, the right claimed that First Lady Obama?s Africa trip would cost taxpayers millions, but even if you use numbers that the White House disagrees with ($424,000), they weren?t even close.
This time the right has whipped up the fake outrage over a leaked document showing that President Obama?s upcoming Africa trip could cost $60-$100 million. What these same people don?t tell is that George and Laura Bush loved to go to Africa on the taxpayers? dime?a lot.

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During Bush?s second term alone, Laura Bush made five ?goodwill? trips to Africa. President Bush made the trip twice during his presidency. Here is former First Lady Bush at an event the night before their trip in 2008, ?Tomorrow, President Bush and I leave for what will be my fifth trip to Africa since 2001, and his second trip to Africa since 2001. I?ve seen the determination of the people across Africa ? and the compassion of the people of the United States of America.?
Wow, that?s a lot of trips to Africa. In 2007, Laura Bush also took her daughters with her, and they went on a safari. You know, the same kind of outing that President Obama just canceled.
Not much was going right for George W. Bush. Even before the economy crashed, his legacy was 9/11, the unpopular Iraq invasion, and Hurricane Katrina. Back in 2003, Bush laid the groundwork for making aid to Africa his legacy. One of the areas where Bush drew praise was that he spent billions of taxpayer dollars on aid to Africa. It?s funny how conservatives don?t utter a peep about George W. Bush dishing out more than ten times the amount of taxpayer money on aid than Obama will spend on his trip.

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Why could the country afford to spend billions of dollars during Bush?s no growth economy, but they can?t afford to spend at least $60 million for the sitting president to travel today?
Giving aid to Africa to combat malaria and AIDS is a very noble cause. It literally saves lives, but 5 goodwill visits to Africa aren?t cheap. Laura Bush wasn?t flying all alone on a commercial flight. Her trips cost the taxpayers a pretty penny.
For some odd reason, the GAO (General Accounting Office) records on the cost of the Bush family?s Africa travels seem to have vanished. The media has contacted the GAO, but no specific numbers have been provided yet. President Clinton?s Africa trip in 1998 cost taxpayers $42.8 million. George W. Bush?s two trips five and ten years later were likely more expensive.
The Washington Post story didn?t say that Obama?s trip will cost $100 million, but that the trip could cost $60-100 million, and that the cost was based on similar African trips made in recent years, ?Obama?s trip could cost the federal government $60 million to $100 million based on the costs of similar African trips in recent years, according to one person familiar with the journey, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.?
President Obama hasn?t made any trips to Africa, except a 22 hour stopover in Ghana in 2009, so it is pretty clear that Secret Service is basing their cost estimate on the cost of the Bush trips. Since George W. Bush made two presidential trips to Africa, it is likely that he spent more money in today?s dollars as President Obama will on his trip.
The reality is that presidential trips are expensive. It would be fair to be opposed to all of them, but the hypocrisy of only being outraged when certain presidents travel is unacceptable. George W. Bush appears to have had himself quite a little African spending spree, but apparently cost only matters when Barack Obama is the president who is doing the traveling.

 

[MadJack]

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The Truth-O-Meter Says:

[h=2]Says President Barack Obama "has taken 92 days of vacation since he was sworn in," compared to 367 for President George W. Bush at the same point in his presidency.[/h]Al Sharpton on Friday, August 9th, 2013 in a segment of his MSNBC show, "Politics Nation"


[h=1]Al Sharpton defends Obama family vacation, saying George W. Bush spent more time away[/h]

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President Barack Obama reacts as he misses a shot while golfing at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Aug. 11, 2013. (Associated Press)

President George W. Bush drives NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in a pickup truck upon his arrival at the Crawford Ranch in Crawford, Texas, May 20, 2007. (Associated Press)

As President Barack Obama begins a vacation on Martha?s Vineyard in Massachusetts, social media and blogs are buzzing with details of Obama?s vacations, past and present.
Mark Knoller, the CBS News White House correspondent who is considered the authority on tracking the president?s daily activities, recently tweeted that "no presidential numbers I report stir as much reaction and resentment as vacations -- except one: golf."
Obama?s vacation plans have attractedheat from some of his critics, who say the cost of moving the president, his family and his Secret Service protection are an extravagance that taxpayers still stung by the weak economic recovery shouldn?t have to pay for. Obama and his family are reportedly staying at a $7.6 million vacation home of Democratic donor David Schulte.
The president?s supporters counter that the unique security concerns for the president mean that he and his family can?t simply head out on the road and plop down at a Motel 6. They add that all presidents have to be accessible for consultation and decisionmaking even if they?re on vacation, and that every occupant of the White House, from both parties, has followed essentially the same procedures for vacations.
As the Obamas took off for Martha?s Vineyard, one of their defenders was the Rev. Al Sharpton, who hosts a show on MSNBC.
On the Aug. 9. 2013, edition of Politics Nation, Sharpton said, "We all love summer traditions, fireworks, barbecues, the beach. And we?re seeing the return of a right-wing favorite -- attacking the president?s vacation."
Sharpton cut to a clip of Fox News? Sean Hannity saying that Obama "is living a pretty extravagant lifestyle, isn?t he? Martha's Vineyard, big expensive vacations, Hawaii, while 50 million Americans, Dana, are on food stamps."
In reality, Sharpton told viewers, Obama "has taken 92 days of vacation since he was sworn in. How many did President (George W.) Bush take by the same point in his presidency? Three hundred and sixty seven. Yes, more than a full year of vacation."
We wondered whether Sharpton was right that Obama?s predecessor took many more vacation days than he has.
When we asked MSNBC for the source of Sharpton?s data, a spokeswoman pointed to a story in USA Today. The article says, "At the same point in Bush's presidency, the 43rd president had spent 367 days at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and his parent's compound at Kennebunkport, Maine, according to a count by CBS News reporter Mark Knoller. Obama, who doesn't own a vacation home, has spent a total of 92 days of his presidency on vacation, according to Knoller."
Tweets by Knoller himself back that up. On the eve of Obama?s departure for Martha?s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that "since taking office, Pres Obama has taken 14 vacation trips spanning all or part of 92 days." Knoller also tweeted that "at the same point in office, Pres. GWBush had made 50 visits to this Texas Ranch totaling all or part of 323 days."
Another 26 of Bush?s vacation days are accounted for by trips to Kennebunkport, with 18 days on vacation at miscellaneous locations, according to Knoller?s data. Trips to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland are not included in either president?s figures.
It?s worth noting that there was a difference in the two presidents? patterns of vacations. As the USA Today article noted, Obama doesn?t own a vacation home, unlike Bush, who owned his ranch. So while Bush essentially used the ranch as as a working White House, Obama has traveled to a variety of destinations, including his native Hawaii. Because of this, the government may have been able to accrue some per-trip cost savings for Bush by going repeatedly to one location. But since the White House is traditionally tight-lipped about costs and security details for presidential travel, it?s impossible to know how the total cost of Bush?s travel compares to Obama?s.
Our ruling
Sharpton said that Obama "has taken 92 days of vacation since he was sworn in," compared to 367 for President George W. Bush at the same point in his presidency. While this discrepancy is explained by the fact that Bush often worked from a family home in Texas whereas Obama has no equivalent family retreat, Sharpton has correctly cited data from the leading authority, CBS News? Mark Knoller. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information, so we rate the statement Mostly True.

 

[Lumi]

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[ssd]

I don't really care - as Lumi states, It's good to be the King.

The interesting thing - the amount of days vacationed is not really the issue - at least to me.

Bush spent the majority of his vacation days at his house in Texas or his family's home in Kennebunkport, where supposedly there was a working office for the Pres.

Obama has spent his vacation days jetsetting around the globe to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars

 

[THE KOD]

I don't really care - as Lumi states, It's good to be the King.

The interesting thing - the amount of days vacationed is not really the issue - at least to me.:mj07:

Bush spent the majority of his vacation days at his house in Texas or his family's home in Kennebunkport, where supposedly there was a working office for the Pres. :mj07::mj07:

Obama has spent his vacation days jetsetting around the globe to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars

as long as your boy George W did it it was ok ......

neocons never change their spots.

sure hope Christie, Cruz, and Paul are ready for 2016

not a fucking chance in hell

 

[ssd]

What is important - wasting millions of dollars or quantifying the days of vacation?

Fuck - it is like trying to talk to a 2nd grader after they have eaten 17 giant pixie stix...

Tell you what - why don't you step away from the keyboard, climb the stairs up out of your parent's basement and go to Dutch Pantry and buy a giant lollipop.

 

[WhatsHisNuts]

I don't really care - as Lumi states, It's good to be the King.

The interesting thing - the amount of days vacationed is not really the issue - at least to me.

Bush spent the majority of his vacation days at his house in Texas or his family's home in Kennebunkport, where supposedly there was a working office for the Pres.

Obama has spent his vacation days jetsetting around the globe to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars

Do you really think the president gets a day off? I don't think so. At best, it is time away from Washington and the spotlight. Jettsetting? lol.

 

[THE KOD]

Do you really think the president gets a day off? I don't think so. At best, it is time away from Washington and the spotlight. Jettsetting? lol.

I think we all know it is a thankless job


I wonder how much Russian taxpayers pay when Putin travels. Maybe Putin pays his own way.

:mj07:

 

[THE KOD]

word is that no one , news, papers, phone , print, type, dare to talk anything about how many
vacation days Putin takes or has taken.


I guess that the price for democracy.


Wait we dont have that in America nowadays. Not with lobby people in the back pocket of every politician in washington.

why dont Rush L and the boys complain more about that. Its too easy to say

ohhhhhh America is weak........thats why Putin is a louse.......:142smilie

 

[THE KOD]

PUTIN HAS GONE FISHING OVER 120 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR !


how can he run a country like that ?


that shows other countrys in the world he is weak and can be pushed around.

 

[THE KOD]

its been reported that this is Putins personal submarine that was purchased for over 2 million


and everytime he takes it out for a spin it costs russian taxpayers 500 K for fuel, maintenance, parking
costs



:0074

 

[THE KOD]

Putin loves his motorcycle and likes to ride with a group he calls Russian Hells Angels.


He has done this 200 times in the last two years costing the Russian Taxpayers over 1.5 million just
for extra security

 

[THE KOD]

you guessed it.



Yachts and luxury hotels for weeks at a time.

 

[THE KOD]

this guy has more fun than Donkey Kong

 

[THE KOD]

only the best slopes for Vlady


Taxpayers pay for all expenses included helicoptor rides for each downhill run at a cost
of 1 million per day.


Putin does this about 30 times a year as there is alot of snow in Russia

 

[THE KOD]

meanwhile back in Fort Lago Obama is on vacation

 

[THE KOD]

this is Putins new wife.


word is Russian taxpayers have paid out 10 times what Michelle Obama has spent in only one
year of service.

 

[THE KOD]

it was reported that Russia appeared weak when Putin donned this cap