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Old 08-26-2011, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Maine
7,727 posts, read 12,354,717 times
Reputation: 8344

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Basically I think it's hypocritical to be calling Mrs. Obama names and criticizing her for trips she makes when one didn't blink an eye when it was any other first lady (Mrs. Bush as an example). To use derogatory terms in regard to Mrs. Obama's personal appearance is disrespectful and rude. The Obama's have paid for their food, lodging and shopping out of their own pocket.
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Old 08-26-2011, 09:46 AM
 
Location: Southcentral Kansas
44,882 posts, read 33,209,134 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msina View Post
Basically I think it's hypocritical to be calling Mrs. Obama names and criticizing her for trips she makes when one didn't blink an eye when it was any other first lady (Mrs. Bush as an example). To use derogatory terms in regard to Mrs. Obama's personal appearance is disrespectful and rude. The Obama's have paid for their food, lodging and shopping out of their own pocket.
I don't know about all that out of pocket expense. She took a pretty good sized group with her to Spain. Five stare hotel rooms don't come free and I am sure they didn't eat many meals at fast food restaurants.
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Old 08-26-2011, 09:47 AM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,068,861 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msina View Post
Um,... Laura Bush and her daughters went on a month long safari to Africa in '07. Because Mrs. Bush did some "official appearances" while there, the entire trip was taxpayer funded. Mrs. Bush also visited Paris, Prague and Budapest among other trips. It's part of being the First Lady.
She didn't take her mama and a gaggle of buddies when she did it.

20yrsinBranson
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Old 08-26-2011, 10:37 AM
 
Location: Portland, OR
8,802 posts, read 8,881,188 times
Reputation: 4512
Quote:
Originally Posted by msina View Post
Basically I think it's hypocritical to be calling Mrs. Obama names and criticizing her for trips she makes when one didn't blink an eye when it was any other first lady (Mrs. Bush as an example). To use derogatory terms in regard to Mrs. Obama's personal appearance is disrespectful and rude. The Obama's have paid for their food, lodging and shopping out of their own pocket.
Please provide sufficient documentation to support your assertion that "the Obama's have paid for their food, lodging and shopping out of their own pocket." Thx.
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:28 AM
 
Location: OCEAN BREEZES AND VIEWS SAN CLEMENTE
19,893 posts, read 18,409,927 times
Reputation: 6465
Quote:
Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson View Post
She didn't take her mama and a gaggle of buddies when she did it.

20yrsinBranson
Got a good point there.
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:31 AM
 
Location: OCEAN BREEZES AND VIEWS SAN CLEMENTE
19,893 posts, read 18,409,927 times
Reputation: 6465
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroGuyDC View Post
So, basically you could care less how much the First Family spends of your tax money doing things that you can't do with that money?


Not the way it is for most people right now, everyone i know myself included watching pennys these days, and what the First Family is spending, indeed we care.

Obama talks talks talks of jobs, yet unemployment figures are so dang high, this month very high. When some actually give up on finding a job, what does this tell ya, and no these are not lazy people, it means the Administration is full of it, good jobs are hard to come by.
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Silver Springs, FL
23,410 posts, read 36,915,433 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stayinformed40 View Post
Like the sarcasm. And great of you to point out the difference between Obummer and Bush....and their first ladies. Laura was a class act - can't say so much for Michelle.

The current first-lady hater - of America is pathetic.
What a classy response.
Emily Post would be appalled.
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Silver Springs, FL
23,410 posts, read 36,915,433 times
Reputation: 15560
Quote:
Originally Posted by msina View Post
Basically I think it's hypocritical to be calling Mrs. Obama names and criticizing her for trips she makes when one didn't blink an eye when it was any other first lady (Mrs. Bush as an example). To use derogatory terms in regard to Mrs. Obama's personal appearance is disrespectful and rude. The Obama's have paid for their food, lodging and shopping out of their own pocket.
Can we say declasse?
People sure do show what they're made of, dont they?
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Maine
7,727 posts, read 12,354,717 times
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Michelle Obama Criticized for Spain Vacation - NYTimes.com
Quote:
The White House was reluctant to discuss Mrs. Obama’s trip. The only official comment came from Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, at a briefing last week when he said that Mrs. Obama “is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I’d leave it at that.”

Privately, officials note that the first lady is paying for her own room, food and transportation, and the friends she brought will pay for theirs as well. The government pays for security, and the Secret Service, not the first lady, determines what is needed.

Officials said some reports of the trip had been exaggerated. Mrs. Obama is not traveling with 40 friends, one official said, but with two friends and four of their daughters, as well as a couple of aides and a couple of advance staff members. The staff is with her because she will pay a courtesy call on King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía on the island of Majorca on Sunday before flying home to Washington.

Every first lady in modern times has flown on government planes with a sizable security detail, and it is hard to pinpoint the cost to taxpayers. The Air Force jet she flew costs $11,351 per hour to operate, according to several reports, meaning a 14-hour round trip would cost nearly $160,000. The first lady would reimburse only the equivalent of first-class commercial tickets for herself and her daughter Sasha, the rest of the seats being occupied mainly by Secret Service. Officials said their friends flew on separate commercial flights.
]
Nation & World | Lavish Obama vacation in time of economic turmoil raises eyebrows | Seattle Times Newspaper
Quote:
While her friends arrived in Spain on their own, Michelle Obama flew in on a type of aircraft also used by Vice President Joseph Biden. It costs the government $11,555 an hour to operate the plane, according to the Air Force. Assuming a nearly eight-hour flight to nearby Málaga, the total round-trip cost of the flight is about $178,000.

The Obama family will reimburse the government an amount equal to two first-class tickets — for mother and daughter Sasha, Air Force officials said. A round-trip first-class flight to Málaga costs about $7,400 apiece, without discounts or restrictions.

Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush, was not surprised the trip has its critics.




"When you are a public figure, it can be difficult to lead a private life. Despite the fact that much of this trip is paid for personally, the American people know that there are costs borne by the taxpayers and it's to be expected that the more expensive the trip, the greater the risk of criticism," McBride said.
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS21835_20070410.pdf
Quote:
1 This report is a revised version of a previous report written by Rogelio Garcia.
2 Fred F. Fielding, Counsel to the President, “Guidelines for Travel by the President and Vice
(continued...)
Order Code RS21835
Updated April 10, 2007
Presidential Travel: Policy and Costs
L. Elaine Halchin
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
For security and other reasons, the President, Vice President, and First Lady use
military aircraft when they travel.1 The White House generally categorizes the trips as
fulfilling either official or political functions. Often, a trip involves both official and
political, or unofficial, activities. When a trip is for an official function, the government
pays all costs, including per diem (food and lodging), car rentals, and other incidental
expenses. When a trip is for political or unofficial purposes, those involved must pay
for their own food and lodging and other related expenses, and they must also reimburse
the government with the equivalent of the airfare that they would have paid had they
used a commercial airline. When a trip involves both official and political activities, a
formula determines the amount to be reimbursed for that part of the trip involving
political activities. Whether a trip is for official or political purposes, the Air Force pays
all operational and other costs incurred by the use of the aircraft. While the travel
policies of specific Administrations concerning the reimbursement of expenses for
unofficial travel generally are not publicly available, it appears that policy guidelines
developed by the Reagan White House have served as a basis for the travel policies of
subsequent Administrations. This report will be updated as new information becomes
available.
If you don't like the sources, find others. As I see "The National Enquirer" and "The Blaze" used as source material by some here, these should be adequate.

Last edited by msina; 08-26-2011 at 11:50 AM..
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Old 08-26-2011, 04:35 PM
 
Location: OCEAN BREEZES AND VIEWS SAN CLEMENTE
19,893 posts, read 18,409,927 times
Reputation: 6465
I so want good change to happen but like now soon. Although my immediate family is financially well i know too many real good people who are not. It truly does sadden me I know too many people who had very good jobs, and some were on those jobs for over 20 25 yrs starting as young ladds. No one expects to lose a job you had forever, but it is happening, and sad for middleaged men. I want my friends to be happy once again, and to be able to pick up the pieces from having lost a jobs, and more then half their home. I felt so bad for an acquaintaince i know. That last week i gave her, a cherry entertainment center, a beautiful couch with carvings and detail, and a coffee table to match, a chair and a extra dining set. They are younger, and i felt so sorry for them, they had no furniture, i feel good, she is so excited glad i could bring a bit of happinesses to their lives.
If i were able to see some imporvement i could say well gees, things are getting better, but the longer that times passes by, the worse off we seem to be getting, so not good.
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