Wonder what you would find if you frisked Michelle Obama’s five-day trip to Spain?
Answer: An extraordinary amount of “tone deafness”.
The Age reports:
As the US economy endures high unemployment and a jittery stock market, President Barack Obama has preached sacrifice and fiscal discipline. But the pictures coming out of a sun-splashed Spanish resort may be sending a different message.
First lady Michelle Obama is in the midst of a five-day trip to a luxury resort along with a handful of friends, her younger daughter, aides and Secret Service. Her office said the Obamas would pay for personal expenses, but would not reveal the taxpayer cost for the government employees.
[...]
Mrs. Obama is staying at the Hotel Villa Padierna, a Ritz-Carlton resort outside Marbella. It has two golf courses, a spa with Turkish baths, views of the Mediterranean and a restaurant specialising in avant-garde fare. Room rates start at $400 and rise to $6,500 for a two-bedroom villa.
Mrs. Obama flew in on a type of aircraft used by Vice-President Joe 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 Malaga, the total round-trip cost of the flight is about $178,000.
No worries though! While our economy here in America remains in shambles, it will only cost U.S. taxpayers $75,000 per day. I hope Spain’s lagging economy enjoyed a little boost, because none of that money will be going into our economy.
What was the White House thinking? Not only is this another P.R. disaster for the Obama administration, but it was just last month that Mrs. Obama made a trip to Florida’s panhandle (hit hard by the oil spill) and encouraged families to spend their vacations there. Apparently, Florida’s coast is not “extravagant” enough for the Obama’s. Boo-hoo.
How “tone deaf” is this White House? Extremely. As Ed Morrissey points out, “And it’s telling that this tone-deaf, Marie Antoinette moment comes from the administration that continues to play class warfare to expand government control over the most private aspects of American lives.”
Interesting how that one works, huh?
