Posted on 06/01/2009 3:13:29 PM PDT by Lucky9teen
It was a campaign pledge that Barack Obama didn't dare break - a promise to take his wife out for dinner and a show once the election was over.
So on the weekend he booked a babysitter, asked Michelle to put on a little black dress and swept her off for a date.
The President picked up the tab for a meal at a low-key restaurant, Blue Hill, that specialises in locally grown dishes.
He had also paid £60 apiece for two tickets to Joe Turner's Come And Gone, a play about a man coming to terms with the history of slavery.
As a little extra, he shelled out for two martinis to toast his first five months in the White House.
Overall, not too extravagant, and few would begrudge the hard-working couple such a treat.
Unfortunately, there were one or two other bills to settle at the end of the night.
The romantic jaunt is estimated to have cost the taxpayer more than £45,000 in transport and security costs - because the date was in New York.
The President used three planes, one to carry the couple and two to ferry aides and reporters all the way from Washington.
The cost of each flight was thought to be nearly £15,000.
The bill was pushed even higher with the use of two helicopters, one to take the Obamas to catch their plane in Washington and another to zip the party into Manhattan from JFK airport.
Police also shut down New York streets for the motorcade to pass through so they could get to their date on time.
All the transport and security costs were picked up by the White House.
But the President was unapologetic, saying: 'I am taking my wife to New York City because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished.'
In one concession to the tough economic climate, the couple flew on a smaller Gulfstream rather than the Boeing 747 customarily used as the presidential Air Force One.
Let's go back to May 16th 2008, just over a year ago:
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
I guess things have changed eh? The American people can't drive SUVs, eat what they want, or keep their houses cool, but it's ok to fly a 747 for two people to NYC for dinner and a show, as well as two other planes for aides and reporters. And of course it's ok to take helicopters to and from the airport, because a cab would be too lower class.
Look, I could give a flying freak what you do, and how you waste our money, because you are going to waste it no matter how I feel. But do you have to be such a hypocrite? Do you have to be so extravagant in a recession? Do you have to live a double standard? "That's not leadership."
Hey, we all have to sacrifice.
Because they can, and they don’t care what you think about.
Comes from having the keys to the state run media.
I’m keeping the house at 73 summer and 69 winter or warmer or cooler as it strikes me. Buck Fobama
Two jets and a helicopter.
Yes we can!
I say the same thing the House said to the auto execs: DRIVE!
This is all material that must be used for the next (presidential) election commercials. The ridiculously expensive inauguration, Air Force One flying over NY to take a fancy photo and terrorizing the “little people” in the process, the pizza guy from Missouri being flown in, oven and all, the Japanese beef at a kazillion dollars a pound, the Wednesday night parties and lots more of good stuff we will get to hear about before this fiasco is all over with. This clown must be stopped and we must take off the gloves, come hell or high water.
Spoils of war. I trump, I won! This is just like some preachers. The congregation’s poor as heck, but they give so he can drive around in his big car. I just hope the voters will be tired of giving come 2010.
The American people can't drive SUVs, eat what they want, or keep their houses cool, but it's ok to fly a 747 for two people to NYC for dinner and a show, as well as two other planes for aides and reporters
Your substance is spot on, but you gotta work on the details.
Hopefully this man will be drummed out of office before then. :)
Fromn your keyboard to God’s ears! And thanks for doing such a great job archiving!!
we sacrifice by watching old movies (rentals) and buying pizza at the grocery store with some soda - sometimes the soda is beer.
| Remember when Bill Clinton got his hair cut by the 'legendary stylist Christopher' who charged $200 a pop, (a huge amount of money in June of 1993), on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, holding the airport up for two hours ~ for security? It was the beginning of his loss of credibility for those who had voted for him. We who knew him already knew that he was not creditable. I guess Obama is following in Clinton's footsteps. |
This is just a distraction from Sarah Palin wearing a dress at the GOP convention that she didn’t pay for! /s
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