European Vacation II: The Obamas

European Vacation II: The Obamas

Why is it that the American people are told we have to hunker down and endure an economy of the government’s making, while our leader takes every opportunity to vacation on our dime, and definitely not on the cheap….

America may be in the midst of a deep recession, and the nation may be facing unprecedented deficit spending and debt, but the White House will not reveal the cost to taxpayers of the European vacation that first lady Michelle Obama and the president’s two daughters, Malia and Sasha, took last month, reports CNSNews.com White Correspondent Fred Lucas.

On four separate occasions, the White House refused to answer Lucas’ request for the cost to taxpayers of the trip – but, analysis by Lucas shows that the cost to taxpayers of just the first lady’s air travel alone for the Washington-to-Paris-to-London-Washington flight could be as much as $214,591.38.

Okay, we know The First Family needs transportation and protection, but c’mon, a little humility goes a long way.

The $214,591.38 taxpayer price tag does not even include significant costs such as:

* The separate cargo plane accompanying Air Force One
* A 20 vehicle motorcade in both Paris and London
* Secret Service and other staff expenses

Just as the White House refuses to divulge the cost of the Obamas’ travel, a Secret Service spokesman tells Lucas that, “We do not discuss the (taxpayer) cost of protection”.

Nor do we really need to know, but there must be an equivalent of a Motel 6 and McDonald’s out there that won’t cost us all quite that much. But hey, who’s counting? The Obamas surely are not.