The Obamanation

[xoxoxoBruce]

Well that sucks.

[TheMercenary]

GM just gave some 20k workers a notice their plants will be closed for an undetermined time. Meanwhile, Obama went on an expensive date...

$24,000 tax payer dollars?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-000-bill.html

[classicman]

Get off it Merc - Bush was gone physically more than anyone and mentally absent for the last few years, it seems. Obama can go on a 1.3 million dollar date with his wife if he wants. He made her a promise and he kept it. Thats a frickin drop in the bucket, relatively speaking.

[TheMercenary]

It's about image when people are out of work, losing jobs, losing homes, with no sight of relief on the horizon. When Bush was president people weren't losing jobs and the economy was not tanking. And that is not a statement in support of Bush. It is all about how it looks in the eye of the public. He should just lay low on that stuff.

[ZenGum]

I see no problem with the date, but... three planes?

One of the planes was to cary "aides" and another for "reporters". The latter was totally redundant - I've never been to New York, but I guess they have reporters there already.
If the "aides" were really that crucial (I'm thinking of body guards, communication officers, the guy carrying the "football" - the briefcase that has the Big Red Button in it) then they should have been on the same plane as the prez.

[Happy Monkey]

It costs at least $24000 for him to anything. As a DC resident, I appreciate any time the President takes a helicopter instead of a limo. There are enough VIPs blockading traffic in the city as it is.

[xoxoxoBruce]

And don't forget about the carbon footprint the trip left. Why they probably detoured to Greenland and clubbed some baby seals, too.

[capnhowdy]

CBS news just reported (a few mins ago) that their estimate for the date, excluding security, was around $81,000.00.
I reckon they were celebrating the appointment of a 31 year old person to "fix" the General Motors company.

[classicman]

Remember, joyriding Air Force One around for a few hours over Manhattan a couple months ago cost $250,000, so the cost of the weekend trip was likely not likely that low.

With the White House simply refusing to say how much taxpayer money it spent,

How about that for selective transparency...

Here's a helpful way to calculate the cost of the trip:

First, the First Couple (and entourage) flew from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base — three choppers (two decoys). That means dozens of men and women — radar, communications, mechanics, crews, everyone, perhaps 100, were involved. (A batch of tagalongs must've taken a taxpayer pool of vehicles out from the White House to AAFB, since it took three jets to get the gang to NYC).

Second, the president moving on a Saturday takes a full operation at and around the White House, dozens and dozens of people. Maybe they're all on salary, so that didn't likely cost much. But all the cops involved — D.C. police, uniformed Secret Service officers, Capitol police — were probably paid overtime, even double time. Probably, again, 100 personnel or so.

Then there were the jets — at least $24,000 for the three aircraft used to ferry the Obamas, aides and reporters to New York. The Obamas' jet, a Gulfstream 500, served as Air Force One.

Third, a C-17 had to fly to NYC to put in place a full motorcade (at least a dozen vehicles, maybe more). The military cargo plane may have taken up at least two, but maybe three, more choppers to fly the whole party from JFK to a Wall Street landing zone, where the motorcade was waiting. If not, the choppers flew there solo (White House veteran reporter Mark Knoller of CBS Radio wrote recently that "The VH-3D that serves as Marine One consumes about 1,200 pounds of fuel per hour." Ouch.

Fourth, driving through Manhattan is an expensive exercise. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of NYPD have to be stationed all along the way, shutting down roads, holding back pedestrians. There were police cars involved, dozens of motorcycles, and the ever-present NYC ambulance (oh, don't forget that the White House doctor also probably went — with all his gear). The city likely gets reimbursed by the White House for the cost (they usually do). And they were all probably getting time and a half (the NYPD overtime budget is extraordinary).

Fifth, the United States Secret Service (USSS) had to scope out the whole thing, then station agents all over — sharpshooters, undercover agents, etc. — at a huge cost. Who knows if they were on overtime. And if you think they went up Saturday morning, think again. They were likely in NYC upwards of a week before, planning the whole evening, every second of every movement. They had to map out five movements — from JFK to the Wall Street LZ, then a motorcade to the restaurant, then another motorcade to the play, then a final motorcade back to the LZ, then a chopper flight to JFK, before the First Couple and crew jetted back to AAFB for another chopper to the White House.

A lot of things I hadn't thought about that would be included in the cost.

[Happy Monkey]

Right. It doesn't matter what he does, it's expensive. All of those costs are completely standard for Presidential trips. It's extremely petty to begrudge him a date, especially when Bush went to Camp David 149 times and Crawford 77 times in eight years.

[classicman]

I agree HM - This is nothing new, IIRC other past presidents also did their fair share. To criticize Obama on taking this is nothing more than petty. For Obama not to disclose the cost is just stupid though. I still can't figure that one out.

I did find it interesting how all the costs add up and that was the real point of my last post.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Right. It doesn't matter what he does, it's expensive. All of those costs are completely standard for Presidential trips. It's extremely petty to begrudge him a date, especially when Bush went to Camp David 149 times and Crawford 77 times in eight years.

Exactly. I'm so goddam sick of that crap I can't stand it already.

It's like bums crawling around in alleys looking for a scrap of food or a cigarette butt, because there's just nothing better around (in this case NOTHING BETTER TO BITCH ABOUT.)

[classicman]

but but but - wasn't it cool to see how much it costs for them to go out on a friggin date? Holy crap. Thats nuts. Could you imagine all the planning and coordination just to go to a show with your SO. What a PITA on top of everything else.

He is certainly entitled and this is another example of extremists making the entire party look bad. That whole broad brush....

[Shawnee123]

It's an example of a bunch of losers going "see? see? see?" They never point backwards.

No offense to you, classic. I'm glad it was brought up.

Really, it's ridiculous, but people run around like sheep going "BAH? Bah? Bah bah bah? Well, Bah!" Shocking.

[glatt]

I like the guy, but maybe he can just take the motorcade 5-6 blocks over to the Kennedy Center next time. They have world class shows there too, and a seat that's reserved for him.