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Michelle, Mom, Kids Africa Trip Costing Taxpayers $171,000 At Least for Air Travel Alone Tuesday, June 21, 2011 By James Zilenziger (CNSNews.com) - The White House isn’t saying how much of a tab the taxpayers will need to pick up for the week-long trip that First Lady Michelle Obama, her two children, her mother, a niece and a nephew are taking to South Africa and Botswana. But according to Congressional Research Service estimates, the flights alone will cost taxpayers more than $171,000--almost as much as the $174,000 annual salaries paid to rank-and-file members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The...

LONDON – It was all going so well. But when the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast to Queen Elizabeth Tuesday night, the meticulously planned state dinner at Buckingham Palace turned, well, awkward. As Obama began wrapping up his remarks, he put down his notecards and picked up his glass. “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast,” the president said, as the guests stood up. “To her majesty the Queen.” At this point, the band queued up “God Save the Queen.” But Obama wasn’t quite finished yet. So...

President Obama’s lack of experience with royalty was on full display today in England as he mistakenly began a toast to the Queen of England at the wrong time, resulting in “God Save the Queen” blaring over his words and no one getting to drink what was in their cups. Awkward.“And now I propose a toast to the Queen,” President Obama began in London today, but only got as far as “To the vitality of the special relationship” before “God Save the Queen” cut him off. He kept reading the toast, however, and finally raised his glass to her. No...

This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. It is a great privilege to commemorate our common heritage, and common sacrifice. Barack Obama 24 May 2008 It was really nice until he got the date wrong by three years. Granted, 2008 was a great year for him, and we might try to live it for as long as possible, too, if we were him. Also, though, he may have had a stroke.

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Never home? President Obama has now spent more days out of the country than any other U.S. chief executive during his first two years in office: Fifteen trips to 26 countries, more than 55 travel days. Some hefty gas money, too: Air Force One costs about $181,757 per hour to operate, according to military sources.

It turns out being president is a lot harder than Barack Obama thought it was. After the biggest electoral defeat in 80 years, Obama packed up Air Force One and headed out for a political shellacking abroad. You'd be hard pressed to locate an accurate picture of world opinion regarding Obama's trip from our adoring media, so here are the highlights as reported by the foreign press. Nothing is more emblematic of the Obama Administration's tactful use of "smart power" than the front page of the Drudge Report the other day after Obama delivered his Jakarta speech. As reported by...

President Obama is getting defensive about his attempts to play offense for the U.S. economy. The President, who is winding up a tour of Asia this weekend, told an economic conference in Yokohama, Japan Saturday that his mission is to bring jobs to America. "For America, this is a job strategy," Obama told the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. The President added that he makes "no apologies" for trying to pump up employment in the U.S. The unemployment rate in the U.S. is currently 9.6%. In his speech, Obama promoted the idea that economic competition between the U.S. and Asian countries...

India is preparing for Barack Obama's first visit to the country by removing coconuts from palm trees in Mumbai to protect the US president. Mr Obama will visit India, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and China on the 10-day tour. Photo: WHITE HOUSE Mr Obama will arrive in India on Saturday for the first leg of an Asian tour. But as well as the usual security measures that come with welcoming a a visiting dignitary, Indian authorities have decided to go one step further, by removing all natural threats to the president as well. Mani Bhavan, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during...

New Delhi: The White House will, of course, stay in Washington but the heart of the famous building will move to India when President Barack Obama lands in Mumbai on Saturday. Communications set-up, nuclear button, a fleet of limousines and majority of the White House staff will be in India accompanying the President on this three-day visit that will cover Mumbai and Delhi. He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday. The measure has been taken...

The White House will, of course, stay in Washington but the heart of the famous building will move to India when President Barack Obama lands in Mumbai on Saturday. Communications set-up, nuclear button, a fleet of limousines and majority of the White House staff will be in India accompanying the President on this three-day visit that will cover Mumbai and Delhi. He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday. The measure has been taken as Mumbai...

Why’s he coming at Diwali? He wouldn’t host an official visit the White House on Christmas Day. So why’s he coming to India during our biggest festival? So say many residents of Mumbai, where US president Barack Obama arrives late on Friday for a three-day trip to India. The privileged few who will meet the great man might be excited by the prospect. But for many Mumbaikers, Obama will get in the way of what they like best - a good party. Fireworks, a highlight of any Diwali - after all, it is the festival of lights - will be...

The massive traffic jam that resulted from President Obama's motorcade and speech Monday night in Hancock Park is prompting calls for an investigation from some residents, who say they were caught in traffic for hours. Obama was only in L.A. for a few hours, but his presence caused numerous streets to be blocked off. Residents reported that commutes and errands that typically took minutes turned into hours-long ordeals. One particular complaint was that streets remained blocked for hours -- even when Obama was inside TV producer John Wells' Hancock Park home at a fund-raiser. "What has occurred is way beyond...

Already under increasing fire for his handling of an oil spill that many experts now say will be the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, President Barack Obama is riling conservatives and veterans with his decision to skip the traditional Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Instead, he will vacation in Chicago. The decision not only has angered conservative pundits such as Glenn Beck but also has riled military families and others who expect the president to follow tradition on the day reserved for honoring the sacrifice of America’s soldiers. On Jacksonville.com, run by the Florida Times-Union newspaper, a...

London, May 8 (ANI): South African police chief General Bheki Cele in order to avoid a visit by President Barack Obama to the country during the World Cup, is 'praying' that the US football team is knocked out of the tournament. Briefing on senators on security, General Bheki Cele said that a visit by the US President, which could happen if the team makes the knockout stage, would be a nightmare.

Watch it yourself NOW! Obama at funerals of WV miners killed in explosion last week. He obviously there only for PR.... and families know it! Women pulling back from attempted embraces. Men not shaking hands. Distain on many faces. Note to Mr. Obama. Welcome to America outside the Beltway, where we know what you really are!

President Barack Obama is fitting in his first visit with ailing evangelist Billy Graham during his vacation weekend in North Carolina. Obama planned to see the 91-year-old Graham and his son Franklin at the elder Graham's mountainside home in Montreat, about 20 miles east of Asheville, where Obama spent a few days away from the White House. "I expect they'll have prayer, but beyond that I don't know what they'll talk about," said Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the Grahams. A White House spokesman, Bill Burton, said that when Obama last spoke with Billy Graham, in a telephone call in...

MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) -- President Barack Obama made a pilgrimage Sunday to Billy Graham's mountainside home, concluding his North Carolina vacation with his first meeting with the ailing evangelist who has counseled commanders in chief since Dwight Eisenhower. The 48-year-old president made the short drive to Montreat from Asheville, where he spent the weekend, to see the 91-year-old Graham and son Franklin, also an evangelist.

Okay, maybe the Obamas’ Asheville, N.C., trip is just a romantic getaway and a chance to grab some 12 Bones BBQ, as the White House suggests. But you know something is going on when even the local “tea party” affiliate welcomes Obama to their “mountain paradise.” Critics like Hoover Institution fellow Shelby Steele have complained that Obama’s “ultimate vision, he has not been very clear about.” So given that the Obama’s “kind of fell in love” with the Buncombe County burg during a debate prep visit during the 2008 campaign, could Asheville itself be a clue to what the President...

The Obamas spent their holidays last year in Hawaii and Martha's Vineyard, the Massachusetts island beloved of millionaire businessmen and celebrities. However, following the US president's fresh attack on Wall Street greed this week, it was apparently deemed wiser for Mr Obama not to be pictured relaxing alongside the same bankers he has been lambasting. The couple left Washington without their children for a long weekend in Asheville, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west of the south-eastern state. Although the area is a far cry from Martha's Vineyard, the Obamas are not exactly venturing into the back...

How do I Stand Up 4 Freedom? Stand up and demand that our current government live up to the high standards that America was founded upon! Attend a "Stand Up 4 Freedom" Rally and let your voice be heard! 5-6:30PM Monday April 26 Ottumwa's Central Park 3rd Street in between N Washington and N Market Streets Ottumwa, IA 52501 6:00 PM Monday April 26 O'Laughlin, Inc. 29703 Lavender Place, Macon, MO 63552

First stop for the first couple's weekend vacation on Friday was a roadside restaurant that President Barack Obama visited during the final month of his White House campaign. First meal on the trip: barbecued ribs. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama landed in the Blue Ridge Mountains and made a quick stop at Twelve Bones Smokehouse on the way to their resort. The White House said the first couple ate ribs, mac and cheese, greens, baked beans, corn bread and corn pudding before motorcading to their mountaintop hotel. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton said the couple -- vacationing without their...

WASHINGTON (April 23) -- President Barack Obama and his family are heading to North Carolina for a short vacation. The Obamas planned to escape the confines of the White House at midday Friday, flying south to Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. The last time Obama was there he prepared for a debate and rallied supporters during the final month of his presidential campaign. He complained at the time that the golf courses looked great, but he didn't have time to play. He's going to get that chance this weekend.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are heading out of town Friday for the mother of all date nights -- a weekend getaway in picturesque Asheville, N.C. (pop. 73,000). The first daughters, 8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia, are staying home, according to the East Wing. The White House says the president is staying at the Grove Park Inn , where he held debate prep in October of 2008. Back then, he groused to reporters that he was too busy to snag any time on the golf course. On this visit, he'll likely hit the links, and maybe the spa...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will travel to Iowa, Missouri and Illinois next week to talk about the U.S. economy and jobs, the White House said on Tuesday, as the president continues his campaign to convince Americans he can ease their economic woes.

Obama cancels Poland trip due to volcano fallout The Associated Press Saturday, April 17, 2010; 2:56 PM WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has canceled plans to travel to Poland for the funeral of President Lech Kaczynski (lekh kah-CHIN'-skee). A White House statement Saturday cited hazardous flying conditions posed by the ash cloud from the erupting volcano in Iceland. The cloud has forced huge portions of European airspace to be closed. The fear is that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail. Obama was to leave Washington on Saturday night for Sunday's state...

One little girl was distinctly unimpressed with all the excitement when President Barack Obama came to town. Many supporters in the crowd in Portland, Massachusetts queued up for hours for the chance to meet the president. Some even camped out overnight in torrential rain to be first in line for a front row place. Unimpressed: A young girl (right) looks bored as Mr Obama greets adoring fans at a big rally in Portland, Maine Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1263165/Barack-Obama-Not-bothered--Schoolboy-left-wondering-fuss-meeting-president-amid-crowd-frenzy.html#ixzz0k08OWNQQ

OTTUMWA, Iowa – It’s no coincidence that President Obama’s national health-care campaign tour begins in Iowa City, Republican congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks said today. "”Dave Loebsack is vulnerable this fall and now he's trying to run for political cover by having the President stump for him right here in his backyard," Miller-Meeks said of the two-term Democrat congressman from Mount Vernon. Miller-Meeks, a U.S. Army veteran and an eye doctor who is a former president of the Iowa Medical Society, said Obama’s stop is "on its surface designed to promote the budget-busting, massive health care bill signed into law this...

Cheers reign but jeers also greet ObamaBy Deirdre Cox Baker, For The Globe Gazette Thursday, March 25, 2010 10:05 PM CDT IOWA CITY — Dr. Erik Edens stayed outside the University of Iowa Field House for hours Thursday, steadfastly holding a sign that read: “Destroyer in Chief … Stop Socialism.” The 46-year-old Davenport native, who is now an Iowa City physician, was one of 250 protesters who showed their feelings during President Obama’s visit Thursday. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” Edens said, explaining that he thinks the health-care reform bill that Obama signed Tuesday will destroy much of...

During his speech in Iowa about health care someone in the audience faints.

In May of 2007 then Senator Obama first announced his health care plan in Iowa City, launching a grassroots campaign for reform. Now President Obama will return to Iowa City, on Thursday, March 25th, to discuss the Health Care Reform, which passed Sunday night. The President on Health Care: An “Iowa Journal” Special aired live on IPTV WORLD and online at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 25th, with hosts Paul Yeager and Dean Borg. A rebroadcast of the speech will air on IPTV’s primary channel Thursday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a panel discussion on The Iowa Journal with some...

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AFP) – US President Barack Obama Thursday launched a sales blitz for his historic health care reforms, as Democrats battled deep Republican anger to finish a set of fixes to the law. Obama returned on Air Force One to Iowa, the cradle of his 2008 campaign, to proclaim he had made good on the political change he promised, by enacting reforms dreamed of by Democrats for generations, but never realized until now. The president was also expected to take on Republicans as they seek to define the historic bill as a costly, big government power grab, in...

On Thursday, the President heads to Iowa City, where he announced his health care reform plan three years ago. This time he is trying to rally consumers behind it.

UPDATED: President Barack Obama will speak about health care Thursday in Iowa City, marking passage of the historic legislation by returning to the place where he proposed his reform plan in 2007 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Members of the general public who wish to attend the event can register for tickets at the following site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/rsvp/university-iowa-100325 Doors open at 11 a.m., the speech will begin at 1:00 p.m. Obama will “discuss how health care insurance reform lowers costs for small businesses and American families and gives them more control over their health care,” said Matthew Lehrich, a White...

It’s about the economy, stupid. An unemployed Ohio woman confronted Barack Obama after his health care pitch. She lost her job in the insurance industry this year and blamed Obama for it. Unemployed worker Ingrid Martin says the leftist bloggers are now attacking her for confronting Obama during his dog and pony show. Could you even imagine if this would have happened to Bush?… Do you think it would have made a few headlines? This actually happened on Wednesday but for some reason the corrupt media ignored it.

The contretemps between President Obama and Israel needs to be seen in a broader global context. The president who ran against "unilateralism" in the 2008 campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush did in his second term. Israelis shouldn't feel that they have been singled out. In Britain, people are talking about the end of the "special relationship" with America and worrying that Obama has no great regard for the British, despite their ongoing sacrifices in Afghanistan. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy has openly criticized Obama for months (and is finally being rewarded with a...

Tickets Available For President's Visit to Strongsville FOX8.com Staff Writer 11:02 AM EST, March 13, 2010 WASHINGTON -- President Obama will be in Strongsville Monday, March 15, to discuss health care insurance reform at the Walter F. Ehrnfelt Recreation and Senior Center.

The Japanese daily equivalent to the American "Wall Street Journal", the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" (or "Nikkei" for short) has run a Japanaese language story just now reporting the slamming that Obama and Gibbs are getting for not only cancelling the Obama Asian trip, but in the rather crass, cavalier, informal and rude way it was apparantly gingerly announced (by Gibbs apparantly) through "Twitter".Alludes in Japanese that this is insulting in an Asian context. Original article (link provided to Japanese) is: 米大統領�アジア歴訪延期�「ツイッター発表��波紋Or my translation: "Obama's Asian Trip Postponement; (White House) Announcement Via 'Twitter' Causes Waves"

America's Newsroom on Fox News has reported. Just announced on the air, not on website yet.

THE White House is battling to play down speculation that Barack Obama may be forced to delay his visit to Indonesia and Australia next week because of the failure to meet his timetable on passing health legislation. The US President's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, has stressed over the past week that Mr Obama wanted a major health reform bill passed by March 18, the day he leaves for his Asia-Pacific visit. But Congress leaders from his Democratic party are struggling to muster enough votes in time for Mr Obama to make an on-time departure. Mr Gibbs yesterday said the White House...

ST LOUIS, Missouri (AFP) – Many Americans have lost faith in their government, US President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday, tackling a pervasive sentiment hobbling his hopes for enacting sweeping reform. American suspicion of government was deepening, he said in a speech from the heartland state of Missouri, where he pushed his endangered health reform drive that has been branded by Republicans as a government takeover. "People have lost faith in government -- they had lost faith in government before I ran (for president), and it has been getting worse," Obama said at a rally in St. Louis. He quoted his...

Arcadia Sidewalk Scene of Stop ObamaCare Press Conference/Rally Tomorrow Administrators Refuse Tea Partiers Access To Campus Philadelphia - March 7 - A least a few hundred Tea Partiers are expected to descend on the sidewalks surrounding Arcadia University, tomorrow, to voice their opposition to Obamacare after having been denied a request to hold a Press Conference/Rally on Campus. An Arcadia University official, Laurie Bauer, denied the group access to the Campus after conferring with other University officials and, allegedly, the White House. "We had hoped to be given space on campus so that we could better facilitate a Press Conference,"...

Protests begin well before President Obama's planned trip to Indonesia By Jordy Yager - 03/06/10 04:54 PM ET Groups of protesters have been gathering in several major Indonesian cities to protest President Barack Obama’s visit to the country in two weeks, saying that he has not changed the U.S. war policies of President George W. Bush. In Jakarta and surrounding provincial capitals, scores of activists organized under the banner of the Campus Islamic Proselytization Institute Coordinating Board shouted slogans decrying Obama and labeling him as an anti-Muslim president, according to local media reports. The demonstrators, many of whom were students,...

At Arcadia University in Glenside, students were preparing to stand in line for tickets - college president Jerry Greiner even expected some to camp out overnight. Workers were sweeping the walks, putting in new plants, and fixing the big "U" carved into the shrubs on the hill, which had been marred by students merrily sledding through in recent weeks. It was a school buzzing in preparation for President Obama's visit to the campus Monday to discuss health-care reform. "I will be waiting in line to get a ticket as soon as the first tent goes up," said Chelsea Moyer, 18,...

UNITED States President Barack Obama will address a special joint sitting of federal parliament in Canberra on March 23. And Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will deliver a speech to parliament when he visits Australia next week. Anthony Albanese, in his role as leader of the government in the House of Representatives, has confirmed that parliament will be specially recalled for the US President in three weeks' time. "The visit of President Barack Obama will of course generate a great deal of interest from the Australian public and indeed we will be honoured by his presence in Canberra on that...

Just days after his doctors expressed concerns about his rising cholesterol levels, President Obama dropped by a family-style restaurant for an authentic – but perhaps not so healthy – Southern style lunch in Savannah, Georgia. In between events, Obama paid a visit to Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room and made it clear he did not want to hear it from the press about his choice of lunch. “I don’t want any lectures about my cholesterol,” Obama said. “Don’t tell Michelle.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- President Barack Obama wants reporters to do the unthinkable: keep a secret. Obama sat down Tuesday afternoon for a Southern-style lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, a popular restaurant and tourist attraction in Savannah, Ga. In front of him was a plate piled high with fried chicken and bowls of beans, sweet potatoes, greens and macaroni and cheese. Turning to reporters who accompanied him on the trip, Obama said he didn't want to hear any lectures about his cholesterol. And above all, he said, don't tell his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, about his lunch.

EU summit off after Obama 'snub' The European Union has scrapped a summit with the US, after President Barack Obama decided not to attend. The event in Madrid in May was to have been the highlight of Spain's six-month EU presidency, and the cancellation is seen as a humiliating blow. Officials say the summit may be take place later this year. BBC European affairs correspondent Oana Lungescu says many see Mr Obama's decision as a snub to the EU's hopes of boosting its global role. On Tuesday, the White House said Mr Obama had had no plans to attend the...

First we had the story of Indonesia considering tearing down the Obama statue. This was back on Jan 25. Then, today, news is out Obama is planning a family trip to Indonesia. Check it out here: RescueMission