M. Obama vacation-30 rms at 5 star hotel

[George Gervin's Afro]

Hotel Villa Padierna, a Ritz-Carlton resort in the mountains outside Marbella… The resort boasts two golf courses, a posh spa with Turkish baths, views of the Mediterranean Sea and a high-end restaurant specialising in avant-garde fare… Private pool, 24-hour butler service, Al Gores favorite massage therapists flown in, private jets, extra secret service for fellow community organizers, fleet of Secret Service Suburbans flown in, C130’s, 747’s, Fighter jets, Cobras…. Mrs. Obama has taken eight such vacation trips…

Yea just a liitle weekend away at Motel-6 like most of us do every now & then…

How did they end up at the five star Villa Padierna, part of the Ritz-Carlton chain? Because of security concerns, there were just some places they could not go. Agents were able to secure Villa Padierna and the nearby beach area.

Do you take issue with the Secret Service now? You are a dumbass..

[in2deep]

with this staying in the news, this country is more and more resembling a 3rd world country

[coyotes_geek]

with this staying in the news, this country is more and more resembling a 3rd world country

Not really. It's just status quo. Back when Bush was prez his vacations were very important to blue team but no big deal to red team. Now that Obama is prez red team magically discovered concern for presidential vacations and blue team's concern mysteriously vanished. democrats = republicans

[DarrinS]

with this staying in the news, this country is more and more resembling a 3rd world country

The media never complained about Bush vacations and his playing golf.

[CavsSuperFan]

Somehow I feel that the Obama’s overindulgence & wasteful spending is George Bush's fault…

[CosmicCowboy]

I didn't make the claim so ask the guy who posted it.

So you had no basis in disputing the numbers he quoted?

No it makes you a dumbass because the total bill is no where near that

[CosmicCowboy]

Do you take issue with the Secret Service now? You are a dumbass..

You do realize don't you that the Secret Service has multiple job functions besides babysitting Mic e Obama?

Would you agree that it costs the Secret Service much less to secure FLOTUS safety in Washington DC (or anywhere else in the US) than it does in Spain?

Your logic that "well, they have to have secret service anyway so that shouldn't count" is flawed.

[boutons_deux]

Laura Dubya travelled around with the usual SS entourage. Where was the outrage?

[CosmicCowboy]

Laura Dubya travelled around with the usual SS entourage. Where was the outrage?

I think the perceived difference is that when Laura Bush took her annual vacation without her husband it was always hiking with friends in various US National Parks, not jetsetting off to Mediterranean Spain on AF2.

[George Gervin's Afro]

So you had no basis in disputing the numbers he quoted?

so you have no idea either...and attaching your bandwagon to a guy who makes stuff up is par for the course..

[CosmicCowboy]

so you have no idea either...and attaching your bandwagon to a guy who makes stuff up is par for the course..

Look dumbass, I can certainly shed some light on some cost components...

Lets just talk about the plane alone...

From your own progressive defense piece:

Mic e even reimbursed the government for the equivalent of two first-class commercial tickets for the flight on Air Force Two.

Big ing deal. So she reimbursed $3000 for the plane ride.

The C-32A (Boeing 757) operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.

So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip not counting anything for sitting on the runway in Spain, security, etc.

Saying she paid her own way is extremely disingenuous.

Then you will say "Well Republicans did THAT..."

So ing what.

She is clearly out of touch with average people and their perception of what is and is not excessive. Own it .

[George Gervin's Afro]

Look dumbass, I can certainly shed some light on some cost components...

Lets just talk about the plane alone...

From your own progressive defense piece:



Big ing deal. So she reimbursed $3000 for the plane ride.

The C-32A (Boeing 757) operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.

So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip not counting anything for sitting on the runway in Spain, security, etc.

Saying she paid her own way is extremely disingenuous.

Then you will say "Well Republicans did THAT..."

So ing what.

She is clearly out of touch with average people and their perception of what is and is not excessive. Own it .

so i was right when stating it was no near 1 million dollars. thanks for proving me right again..

[CosmicCowboy]

so i was right when stating it was no near 1 million dollars. thanks for proving me right again..

I didn't make the million dollar claim.

You didn't prove anything. I addressed ONE VERIFIABLE COMPONENT of the trip. It is impossible to address the Secret Service cost component as that is classified information.

Neither one of us can give a verifiable total.

Just don't try to sell that bull that she "paid her own way"

Congress pulls that constantly (both Republicans and Democrats) and it's deceptive and dishonest.

[DMX7]

"First Lady Mic e Obama took a lot of grief for her decision to vacation in Spain last week, a glitzy getaway that prompted one New York Daily News columnist to liken her to Marie Antoinette. But now we're learning more about the trip, which, despite the furor over its alleged excess, seems to have been launched with good intentions.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, the first lady made the trip because she wanted to spend time with her best friend, Chicago physician Anita Blanchard, who lost her father this summer. Blanchard (who is married to President Obama's best friend, Marty Nesbitt) planned a Spanish vacation with her daughter and invited the first lady and her daughters to come along. Mic e, who missed Blanchard's father's funeral in July, agreed and brought along her 9-year-old daughter, Sasha. The first couple's older daughter, Malia, is away at camp.
According to Sweet, one other mutual friend came along with her own two daughters. And according to the White House, all parties paid for their own hotel rooms and personal expenses.

Speaking of the hotel: As The Upshot speculated last week, it was the Secret Service that booked the Obama group's rooms at the luxury Hotel Villa Padierna, in part because agents could guard the perimeter of the property much better than they could at rival facilities."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...rieving-friend

[LnGrrrR]

As much as I hate this arguing against him, nice seeing you rip him a new one.

Not really. CC's contention that Chump should have to answer his question doesn't mean that CC's position is tenable.

[LnGrrrR]

The 1st lady racked up over a million dollars in expenses on this quaint mini vacation…Paid for by the tax payers…I think this is wasteful….I guess this makes me a racist…

Do you know if other Presidents have gone on vacation to another country? If so, how much did that cost?

[LnGrrrR]

I didn't make the million dollar claim.

You didn't prove anything. I addressed ONE VERIFIABLE COMPONENT of the trip. It is impossible to address the Secret Service cost component as that is classified information.

Neither one of us can give a verifiable total.

Just don't try to sell that bull that she "paid her own way"

Congress pulls that constantly (both Republicans and Democrats) and it's deceptive and dishonest.

I find it EXTREMELY INTERESTING that CC doesn't think Mic e paid her own way.

[hater]

The media never complained about Bush vacations and his playing golf.

the media complained about Bush's vacation length, not cost.

when media and population starts to complain of cost of vacation for the wife of a president = 3rd world country kinda

[LnGrrrR]

The C-32A (Boeing 757) operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.

So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip not counting anything for sitting on the runway in Spain, security, etc.

Saying she paid her own way is extremely disingenuous.

Is it your contention that she should pay for all of the above?

Or that she shouldn't take vacations abroad?

You have to believe one of the two.

Then you will say "Well Republicans did THAT..."

So ing what.

She is clearly out of touch with average people and their perception of what is and is not excessive. Own it .

Most Presidents are out of touch with average people. Most Presidents are not average people.

[ChumpDumper]

I think the perceived difference is that when Laura Bush took her annual vacation without her husband it was always hiking with friends in various US National Parks, not jetsetting off to Mediterranean Spain on AF2.

Laura Bush went on several international trips without her husband.

[DMX7]

The Obama's total wealth is not that much. They can't afford to be paying their own way for every vacation.

Not that we can afford it either, but where were these complainers during the Bush years?

[hater]

dayum! 4 posts in d same thread at the same time!

[DMX7]

I think the perceived difference is that when Laura Bush took her annual vacation without her husband it was always hiking with friends in various US National Parks, not jetsetting off to Mediterranean Spain on AF2.

That's just factually wrong. But at least it confirms you're living in a different universe.

[CosmicCowboy]

That's just factually wrong. But at least it confirms you're living in a different universe.

prove it

[Chomag]

"First Lady Mic e Obama took a lot of grief for her decision to vacation in Spain last week, a glitzy getaway that prompted one New York Daily News columnist to liken her to Marie Antoinette. But now we're learning more about the trip, which, despite the furor over its alleged excess, seems to have been launched with good intentions.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, the first lady made the trip because she wanted to spend time with her best friend, Chicago physician Anita Blanchard, who lost her father this summer. Blanchard (who is married to President Obama's best friend, Marty Nesbitt) planned a Spanish vacation with her daughter and invited the first lady and her daughters to come along. Mic e, who missed Blanchard's father's funeral in July, agreed and brought along her 9-year-old daughter, Sasha. The first couple's older daughter, Malia, is away at camp.
According to Sweet, one other mutual friend came along with her own two daughters. And according to the White House, all parties paid for their own hotel rooms and personal expenses.

Speaking of the hotel: As The Upshot speculated last week, it was the Secret Service that booked the Obama group's rooms at the luxury Hotel Villa Padierna, in part because agents could guard the perimeter of the property much better than they could at rival facilities."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...rieving-friend

Back peddling much? The Obamas are really becomming masters at this.