First Lady’s spanish vacation cost taxpayers $500,000

It is hypocritical for President Obama to fire GSA officials for wasteful conference spending, while his family went on a luxury vacation in the Costa del Sol Spain that cost taxpayers nearly half a million dollars,” Fitton said referring to the scandal surrounding the General Services Administration’s lavish training conference in Las Vegas.

Obama and her then-nine-year-old younger daughter, Sasha, went on the trip to Andalusia and Majorca “with two friends and four of their daughters, as well as a couple of aides and a couple of advance staff members,” the New York Times reported at the time. The vacation included a meeting with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

Obama and the other family paid for their own hotel bills, but Judicial Watch said the flight costs came to $199,323.75. “The 15-member flight crew stayed at Tryp Guadalmar, a nearby motel. Lodging cost was $10,290.60 and car rental cost was $2,633.50. Food cost was $876.30, including $57.68 for four bottles of maple syrup and a package of pancake mix,” the group claimed.

“Secret Service records meanwhile, show that the costs to the agency for the vacation were $254,461.20. This total includes $26,670.61 for a chauffeur tour of Costa del Sol and $50,078.78 for a travel planning company SET P&V, S.L. [George Soros is 50 percent owner of the travel company.] Taxpayers also paid the bill for separate lodging for a dog and its handler.”

Fitton said, “The American people can ill afford to keep sending the First Family on vacations around the globe. There needs to be greater sensitivity to the costs borne by taxpayers for these personal trips.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: First Lady’s Spanish Vacation 'Cost Taxpayers $500,000'


http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Michelle-Obama-Spain-vacation/2012/04/26/id/437234

Must be nice to have a chauffeur driven tour around the place that cost 27,000.00 to taxpayers. This is the kind of nonsense spending that ALL politicians seem to get away with and the media never expresses much concern about this, I just wonder why not? I wish I could travel around and enjoy the lifestyle that politicians have but I'm on a fixed income and can't afford it, I only wish politicians would try to save money instead of always spending , spending, spending.

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Get a sense of perspective. This is chicken feed compared to the billions congress throws around.

Should they never take vacations?
Or should they take them and compromise on security?

 

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Why was your conservative news source not complaining about George II's frequent vacations? Additionally you would be better served by reading and referencing more credible sources. I guess the conservative press is getting desperate these days. This trip occurred nearly two years ago in 2010. This is old news. As for the NewsMax and Judical Watch numbers and accusations about Soros, they should not be relied upon as these sources (NewsMax & Judical Watch) are highly partisan and known to take liberties with the truth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/us/politics/08vacation.html

 

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I stated that ALL politicians are doing it but I guess you must overlook the obvious and just jump to conclusions. Since I wasn't here when George was the President I guess I couldn't have said much or does that ever come to your mind when you make statements like this? :shrug:

 

You know I found it fascinating when Obama came to Australia to see the list of what came with him, sadly I can't find the original arrival but I did find this one

http://m.smh.com.au/national/capita...r-presidents-flying-visit-20111103-1mxxc.html

The thing that got me was that he travels with a field hospital and his own ambulance. In comparison the PM travels with maybe 2 or 3 AFP officers and a shitload of journalists and the RAAF pilots operating the loaned QANTAS planes. In fact I've actually run into the PM at a supermarket before very little security. Ordinary MPs have no security (for instance my local state MP who is the speaker from memory) was standing with us drinking port at ANZAC day as she does every year (very nice port too

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No you didn't say that. But be that as it may, are you suggesting that the First Lady should not be able to go on vacation? Are you saying that she should not have security when she travels? Because it is the security detail that accounts for almost all of the first lady's and the president's travel costs.

I think the presidential family should be able to take a reasonable number of vacations. And I think we should afford them the best security possible at all times. Because ultimately they are always on the job. Additionally, the amount that was spent and the infrequency of these vacations is really nothing to get upset about.

 

So: if he fires them he's a hyprocrite, but what label do you use if he let them off the hook...conspirator?

And of course the Republican led Congress is completely ignored by your news source, after wasting taxpayers dollars investigating the issue after the Obama administration had already resolved it:

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/the-administration/222291-gsa-scandal-exposes-waste-of-congress-time
:shrug:

The trip two years ago was covered by all the right wing sources, in fact I think FOX led the charge. Since that's history, maybe you should be asking why the Republican Congress is wasting money with the GSA issue after it was already resolved. If it's really money you're worried about, that is, and not just the typical pre-campaign ad homs against Obama. Even if you were angry two years ago, it seems that today you should be praising Obama and blasting the Republicans. If this is really about waste, that is.

 

Glenn Beck/Shawn Hannity/Rush Limbaugh/FOX News and a few dozen of their cohorts.

 

It's not a completely irrelevant point, but I'm sure we have more important things to concern ourselves with as a nation. The GOP has an interest in completely ignoring those issues.

 

Buddha12,

Are you trying to argue that human beings in government should not be allowed to take vacations?

 

Don't be so sure this is not a good spending of dollars.
Michelle Obama may have made an intelligent choice and the money spent was widely offset by what she gained in a PR/Head of State networking visit to Spain. Spain is an important crossroad between Africa and Europe, has economic difficulties, which make it eager to have business relations with the Americas. There is also the personal tragedy of the ramped disturbance of many missing Spanish babies, which may be illegally marketed in the West. I can see PR gains written all over this trip. Catholic, Children, Economic Difficulties, Africa, Europe, Discussing issues with the King and Queen of Spain, other business discussions, other matters I cannot see without further study of the moment. This is not a simple vacation jaunt. Michele is out working. This has the feel of a mission.

 

What kinda vacation can you take for 500k? I mean - you could swim with the dolphins all week long, eat at awesome restaurants, and get a bunch of massages and still not break 10k.

Oh wait -- Maybe they have Casinos in Casa Del Sol?

 

Exactly. A magician does the same thing, it's called misdirection.

 

Not with virtually complete protection from assassination.

 

Do you need Secret Service protection?

 

Real question is do they really need that much protection or is the whole thing mainly paranoia?

 

Considering how many times we have had our POTUS assaulted and/or killed or threatened, yes they need it. Now do people like Newt Gingrich need it?

 

You do realise that the fact that inspite of the security presidents have been killed shows not that it's nessary but rather that it's useless. If you really want to kill someone and your willing to die doing it you will be able to do it. Its strange, you spend all of this money on massive amounts of security and presidents still die, we spend very little on it and the most "vicious attack" on our leaders the the chaser boys and don't say it's because of other countries because as far as I know it's always been your OWN nutjobs