Whos counting.....

N

NOVA

U. S. NAVY Veteran
By: Mark Tapscott 12/29/10 5:04 PM
Editorial Page Editor
Hawaii Reporter

President Obama and his family are enjoying a delightful Christmas vacation with friends and family in the chief executive's home state of Hawaii.

Nobody questions a president's right or need to take take away from the White House, but an investigation by Hawaii Reporter has turned up some eye-opening information about the costs and other aspects of the Obama get-away.

Just consider these estimates on part of the costs of the latest Obama Hawaii trip:

* Mrs. Obama’s early flight to Hawaii: $63,000 (White House Dossier)

* Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii: $1 million (GAO estimates)

* Housing in beachfront homes for Secret Service and Seals in Kailua ($1,200 a day for 14 days): $16,800

* Costs for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel: $134,400 ($400 per day for 24 staff) – excluding meals and other room costs

* Police overtime: $250,000 (2009 costs reported by Honolulu Police Department)

* Ambulance: $10,000 (City Spokesperson)

TOTAL COST: $1,474,200

But that $1.47 million figure leaves out a number of signficant costs that simply could not be calculated by Hawaii Reporter:

* Rental of office building in Kailua on canal

* Security upgrades and additional phone lines.

* Costs for car rentals and fuel for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel (Secret Service imports most of the cars used here to escort the president).

* Surveillance before the president arrives.

* Travel costs for Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President.

White House spokesmen insist Obama's vacation expenses are in line with those of previous presidents, which may well be true, but, since the government refuses to disclose many important details about any presidential journey, nobody can know for sure.

There appear to be reasons to suspect the Obamas' trip could have been done for less, according to Hawaii Reporter.

"They could have chosen a less expensive and more secure place to stay such as a beachfront home on the Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station – just a two-minute drive away from the Kailuana Place property where they are now," according to Hawaii Reporter.

"The president visits the military base daily to workout, bowl with his kids or enjoy the more private beach there. He also could have stayed at a home 15 minutes away on the beach fronting Bellows Air Force Base as President Bill Clinton did."

But Obama and friends opted instead to secure use of three luxury beachfront places, including the “Winter White House” – or Kailua home that the president rents two weeks a year.

That facility, Hawaii Reporter, noted, normally rents for an estimated $3,500 a day or $75,000 a month, according to the web site Gadling.com.

The latter describes the place as a “7,000 square foot home [that] features 5 bedrooms, 5 ½ bathrooms, a media room with surround sound, a kitchen suited for a master chef, a dining room and great room, a secluded lagoon-style pool with tropical waterfalls and a lavish island spa. The ocean lanai and garden lanai showcase ornate landscaping and stunning views of Kailua Bay and Mount Olomana.”


Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs...-dollar-christmas-vacation-hawa#ixzz19eGcpDEl


This pinhead will cost us more in one term than GW did in two.....:palm:
 
Get real...Bush spent his time at his home in Crawford or Camp David......costing the taxpayers next to nothing compared to this ass.....
 
bravo said:
Get real...Bush spent his time at his home in Crawford or Camp David......costing the taxpayers next to nothing compared to this ass.....
Click to expand...

He went there a lot. Lefties complained about it like you complain about Obama - from what I understand, even the Crawford trip was about a quarter mill a pop...
 
A few facts and a basic understanding of “more” and “less” will clear up the subject of presidents’ vacation days.

During his first year in office, Barack Obama took 26 vacation days. During their first years in office, George W. Bush took 69, Bill Clinton 21, George H.W. Bush 40, Ronald Reagan 42 and Jimmy Carter 21.

Trips to Camp David, which were not included as vacation days, were: Obama 27 days, George W. Bush, 78 days.

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/president-obamas-vacation-days/

Bush Sets Record for Most Vacation Days by a President

January 16, 2009 4:11 PM
487 Days At Camp David For Bush

George W. Bush is today making his final visit to Camp David as president.

He will likely miss the place: According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

487 days at Camp David
490 days at Crawford Ranch
43 days at Kennebunkport Compound

Total: 1020 days, more than 1/3rd of his presidency. Bush set the record for most vacation time taken by a president.

Carter took 79 days in 4 years.
Clinton took 152 days in 8 years.

Reagan took 335 days in 8 years.
Bush Sr. took 543 days in 4 years!

So much for the mythological Republican hard worth ethic.

At a bare minimum, for the flights alone, Bush’s 77 vacation trips to Crawford cost us $226,072 per trip. That’s $17,407,544 so he could ride his bicycle in the woods and clear brush for the cameras.

bush_lite_mtb.jpg
 
Last edited:
March 30, 2009

Obamas Paying for White House Renovations

Though new presidents "are allotted $100,000 to overhaul the White House residence and the Oval Office," New York magazine reports "the First Couple isn't spending that money."

Said a spokeswoman: "They are not using public funds or accepting donations of goods for redecorating their private quarters."

"The White House declined to disclose the budget, saying that all expenses would remain private as a result of the Obamas' decision to absorb the cost."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/03/30/obamas_paying_for_white_house_renovations.html

At a time when people are having trouble holding on to their houses, Barack and Michelle Obama have sensibly decided not to use taxpayers’ money to renovate theirs.

They “are not using public funds or accepting donations of goods for redecorating their private quarters,” says Camille Johnston, director of communications for the First Lady. Nor is the couple, who reported $4.2 million in household income in 2007 tax returns, using money from the White House Historical Association, a privately funded foundation that paid for a $74,000 set of china shortly before Laura Bush left town.
 
Good Luck said:
Can we spend our vacations on his dime? Why the fuck should he spend his on ours? You can bet if he were footing the bill, it would be cheaper.
Click to expand...

Yeah! He should buy his own house down in DC, as well...and drive his own car.

Why do we pay for anything for that guy?
 
Bfgrn said:
A few facts and a basic understanding of “more” and “less” will clear up the subject of presidents’ vacation days.

During his first year in office, Barack Obama took 26 vacation days. During their first years in office, George W. Bush took 69, Bill Clinton 21, George H.W. Bush 40, Ronald Reagan 42 and Jimmy Carter 21.

Trips to Camp David, which were not included as vacation days, were: Obama 27 days, George W. Bush, 78 days.

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/president-obamas-vacation-days/

Bush Sets Record for Most Vacation Days by a President

January 16, 2009 4:11 PM
487 Days At Camp David For Bush

George W. Bush is today making his final visit to Camp David as president.

He will likely miss the place: According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

487 days at Camp David
490 days at Crawford Ranch
43 days at Kennebunkport Compound

Total: 1020 days, more than 1/3rd of his presidency. Bush set the record for most vacation time taken by a president.

Carter took 79 days in 4 years.
Clinton took 152 days in 8 years.

Reagan took 335 days in 8 years.
Bush Sr. took 543 days in 4 years!

So much for the mythological Republican hard worth ethic.

At a bare minimum, for the flights alone, Bush’s 77 vacation trips to Crawford cost us $226,072 per trip. That’s $17,407,544 so he could ride his bicycle in the woods and clear brush for the cameras.

bush_lite_mtb.jpg
Click to expand...
Camp David visits are not traditionally counted as "vacation days". Camp David is set up much more as an alternate work office for the President than any kind of vacation retreat. Camp David visits include items like conferencing with foreign dignitaries, summits, etc.

Obama visited Camp David 11 times for 27 days his first year. They are not counted. His official number of vacation days his first year are 26.

Of course, MOST people recognize the basic fact that the President is never "off the clock" no matter where they choose to go. The only thing being away from the Oval Office means is he is not available for PR handshakes and photo ops. So the number of days away from the Oval Office is a non-issue in reality.

What IS the issue here is the COST of working away from the Oval Office. Even the high number of days Bush spent away from the Oval Office were not particularly expensive because he went the same place(s) all the time - his home or his dad's home - both places easily secured at little extra cost because presidents' and former presidents' homes are ALWAYS secured in some degree.

Conversely, the Obamas like going unusual places, renting high cost luxury accommodations, forcing even higher costs in security because the places are not usually secured, and are usually open to public, making them more difficult and more expensive to secure. So we end up paying not only for travel costs, but also costs of the accommodations and the costs of extra security.

It's not the days on "vacation" I object to, since he's on the job if needed. It is choosing costly, luxury places and accommodations on the public dime I object to.
 
Onceler said:
Yeah! He should buy his own house down in DC, as well...and drive his own car.

Why do we pay for anything for that guy?
Click to expand...
Truthfully, what would you be saying if it were Bush renting (making US rent, that is) luxury beach front accommodations instead of going to his own home?
 
Good Luck said:
Truthfully, what would you be saying if it were Bush renting (making US rent, that is) luxury beach front accommodations instead of going to his own home?
Click to expand...

Truthfully, I wouldn't care. A bit. I know you like to think you "know" what I'd be saying, but that's either projection or ignorance. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me. For the record, I did complain about Bush taking extended vacations, but not for the expense - it was something I pointed out when I was making a larger point about the man, which is that he generally seemed disinterested in the job of President (w/ a few exceptions, such as Iraq).

Lots of lefties did complain about the expense of Bush's trips, though - I have read that even to Crawford, it was a minimum of $250K a pop. You indicated in your prior post that it didn't cost that much...are you basing that on anything but conjecture?
 
Onceler said:
Truthfully, I wouldn't care. A bit. I know you like to think you "know" what I'd be saying, but that's either projection or ignorance. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me. For the record, I did complain about Bush taking extended vacations, but not for the expense - it was something I pointed out when I was making a larger point about the man, which is that he generally seemed disinterested in the job of President (w/ a few exceptions, such as Iraq).

Lots of lefties did complain about the expense of Bush's trips, though - I have read that even to Crawford, it was a minimum of $250K a pop. You indicated in your prior post that it didn't cost that much...are you basing that on anything but conjecture?
Click to expand...
Didn't cost much comparatively. Travel expenses offset each other. When the president "vacations", travel expenses are part of it. Fine. Travel expenses are part of the job of president whatever the reason.

But as I said, what I object to is not the travel and it's not the President taking a "vacation". What I object to is the Obamas choice of lifestyle when they DO go on vacation. They don't go home - they go to luxury resorts. No other president has done this. Every other president has gone home or to some other established retreat, which minimizes the costs of their vacations.

Travel, I can agree, is a perk picked up by the tax payer. But luxury resorts, which themselves cost us a bundle, plus the added costs of securing a place that was not designed to be secured? Sorry, I cannot agree that should be a perk placed on the tax payer.
 
its comical to see lefties like bsgrn spout off all the days at camp david, his ranch etc....now, if they want to attack his kennenport, fine....but its dishonest to claim he was not working at camp david or his home and really dishonest to say a president actually doesn't work on a given day....and GL is correct about camp david

there are numerous photo ops and meetings conducted with foreign nationals etc at crawford...but go ahead and continue to whine that he wasn't working

lol
 
just look at bush vacationing and not being president at his ranch

phol02v2.jpg



i'm outraged!!!!! i mean everyday he was at crawford, according to bsgrn he was not working, he was vacationing.....

ooooops, busted
 
Yurt said:
its comical to see lefties like bsgrn spout off all the days at camp david, his ranch etc....now, if they want to attack his kennenport, fine....but its dishonest to claim he was not working at camp david or his home and really dishonest to say a president actually doesn't work on a given day....and GL is correct about camp david

there are numerous photo ops and meetings conducted with foreign nationals etc at crawford...but go ahead and continue to whine that he wasn't working

lol
Click to expand...

What's comical is the spin that what Bush did was 'presidential' and what Obama does is bilking the taxpayer.
 
Bfgrn said:
What's comical is the spin that what Bush did was 'presidential' and what Obama does is bilking the taxpayer.
Click to expand...

wait a minute, you're the hack that is claiming what bush did is not presidential and then turning around claiming that what obama does is presidential
 
Yurt adores Bush.

I have to try to remember not to blaspheme the mighty Bush on this board; it really offends Yurt....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top