August 9, 2010--Tone Deaf
I don't begrudge anyone a vacation. Especially someone who has worked hard all year and truly deserves a break.
I am here not talking about Michelle Obama who is just back from a trip to Spain with her younger daughter, Sasha. She hardly needed to get away to, of all places, Marbella where, every August, the royal family of Saudi Arabia comes to frolic. To get their entourage there the Saudis have the use of a fleet of a dozen or so private 747s and an assortment of yachts none less than 150 feet long.
On the other hand, tending to that White House vegetable garden does take a lot out of you and Air Force Two, which she and Sasha used, though also a 747, was the only plane they took from the White House fleet. It's a good thing poor Joe Biden wasn't planning on using it. I guess he'll have to wait for Michelle to return before he again hustles off to Afghanistan.
She is being excoriated by media folks of all persuasions for taking such an extravagant trip, most of it paid for by U.S. taxpayers, including all those millions out of work who will be foregoing any vacation at all this year. (See linked New York Times article.)
Though to compare her to Marie Antionette, as a New York Daily News columnist did, is going a bit too far. Considering what happened to Louis XVI's wife.
Yes, the White House says, she will be paying for her own accommodations at the swank Villa Padierna where rooms average $500 a night and suites, which I assume she had, set you back $6,000. But then they do come with your 24 hour private butler. So it's not so bad after all.
On the other hand, she will not by any means be paying for the full cost of using Air Force Two. It is estimated that the cost of flying it there and back will top $160,00 and all Mrs. Obama will be charged is the price of two round-trip first class tickets. About $10,000. Which means that we are picking up at least $150,000. Plus, of course, all the costs associated with her official entourage. The Times reports that it is quite an entourage--they used at least 30 rooms at the Villa. All paid for by you and me. By my calculations, assuming the other 29 rooms cost $500 each, for the three-night stay that adds up to another $43,500.
She did, though, make one official stop--to see King Juan Carlos at his August retreat on the island of Mallorca. A nice gesture though I speculate that by making a small part of the trip "official" it allows Michelle to get taxpayers to pay for at least part of the airfare that would normally be billed to her. Neat.
All the while, Barack had to stay home and work and celebrate his 49th birthday all alone. Well, not exactly alone. He flew to Chicago to have dinner with Oprah and Gayle.
But the Obamas are going to spend a few days on the Gulf coast before heading off for 10 days on Martha's Vineyard in response to criticism that they are doing all their vacationing with the hoi polloi.
George Bush spent fully one-third of his eight years in office cutting brush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas and Laura Bush did do some vacationing on her own (mainly to U.S. national parks). Also, Hillary during every school vacation, took Chelsea off on junkets around the world. Remember all those pictures of them on camels before the Pyramids in Egypt and on tiger hunts in India? The Clintons also, recall, tried to sneak furniture out of the White House when Bill's two terms were up--so what would we expect from them.
On the other hand, during both of those presidencies the economy was in pretty good shape in comparison to now and neither came into office saying that he was going to end "business as usual." I guess that didn't pertain to spouses' vacations.
I am here not talking about Michelle Obama who is just back from a trip to Spain with her younger daughter, Sasha. She hardly needed to get away to, of all places, Marbella where, every August, the royal family of Saudi Arabia comes to frolic. To get their entourage there the Saudis have the use of a fleet of a dozen or so private 747s and an assortment of yachts none less than 150 feet long.
On the other hand, tending to that White House vegetable garden does take a lot out of you and Air Force Two, which she and Sasha used, though also a 747, was the only plane they took from the White House fleet. It's a good thing poor Joe Biden wasn't planning on using it. I guess he'll have to wait for Michelle to return before he again hustles off to Afghanistan.
She is being excoriated by media folks of all persuasions for taking such an extravagant trip, most of it paid for by U.S. taxpayers, including all those millions out of work who will be foregoing any vacation at all this year. (See linked New York Times article.)
Though to compare her to Marie Antionette, as a New York Daily News columnist did, is going a bit too far. Considering what happened to Louis XVI's wife.
Yes, the White House says, she will be paying for her own accommodations at the swank Villa Padierna where rooms average $500 a night and suites, which I assume she had, set you back $6,000. But then they do come with your 24 hour private butler. So it's not so bad after all.
On the other hand, she will not by any means be paying for the full cost of using Air Force Two. It is estimated that the cost of flying it there and back will top $160,00 and all Mrs. Obama will be charged is the price of two round-trip first class tickets. About $10,000. Which means that we are picking up at least $150,000. Plus, of course, all the costs associated with her official entourage. The Times reports that it is quite an entourage--they used at least 30 rooms at the Villa. All paid for by you and me. By my calculations, assuming the other 29 rooms cost $500 each, for the three-night stay that adds up to another $43,500.
She did, though, make one official stop--to see King Juan Carlos at his August retreat on the island of Mallorca. A nice gesture though I speculate that by making a small part of the trip "official" it allows Michelle to get taxpayers to pay for at least part of the airfare that would normally be billed to her. Neat.
All the while, Barack had to stay home and work and celebrate his 49th birthday all alone. Well, not exactly alone. He flew to Chicago to have dinner with Oprah and Gayle.
But the Obamas are going to spend a few days on the Gulf coast before heading off for 10 days on Martha's Vineyard in response to criticism that they are doing all their vacationing with the hoi polloi.
George Bush spent fully one-third of his eight years in office cutting brush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas and Laura Bush did do some vacationing on her own (mainly to U.S. national parks). Also, Hillary during every school vacation, took Chelsea off on junkets around the world. Remember all those pictures of them on camels before the Pyramids in Egypt and on tiger hunts in India? The Clintons also, recall, tried to sneak furniture out of the White House when Bill's two terms were up--so what would we expect from them.
On the other hand, during both of those presidencies the economy was in pretty good shape in comparison to now and neither came into office saying that he was going to end "business as usual." I guess that didn't pertain to spouses' vacations.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home