May 31, 2009 5:40 PM
Obama: Friday burgers, Saturday Broadway date night with Michelle
So much flash and so much wasted taxpayer money. Not only do we pay for White House staff at Obama's beck and call, but we have to pay for the razzle-dazzle motorcade to Virginia for a "real" burger so he can have his Second Burger Photo Op:
Then another date night with Michelle - this time Broadway at taxpayer expense and with fawning press coverage, including every detail of their attire. From Politico:
GOP takes aim at Obamas' NYC trip By: Politico Staff May 30, 2009 05:44 PM EST
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama landed in New York Saturday afternoon, and after taking a helicopter from JFK into Manhattan, drove up the West Side Highway, where the northbound lanes were shut down by police for their visit, past Ground Zero, into the Village for dinner at the Village's Blue Hill restaurant. From there, they went north to Times Square, where they went to to see a production of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at the Belasco Theater on West 44 Street.
Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest read a statement from Obama: "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."
Asked about the cost of the trip, which Republicans have criticized as indulgent, coming just ahead of the expected announcement of GM's bankruptcy filing on Monday, Josh Earnest told pool reporter Dave Michaels of the Dallas Morning News, that he "didn't anticipate being able to provide a cost estimate tonight."
After the play let out at about 11:30 p.m., the presidential motorcade went down Sixth Avenue, shut down by the NYPD, and onlookers packed onto the East side of the street cheered as the presidential motorcade passed as the Obamas headed back to JFK for a return flight to Washington.
The Republican National Committee slammed the outing in an "RNC Research Piece": "As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan's theater district on Air Force One to take in a Broadway show, GM is preparing to file bankruptcy and families across America continue to struggle to pay their bills. ... Have a great Saturday evening - even if you're not jetting off somewhere at taxpayer expense. ... PUTTING ON A SHOW: Obamas Wing Into The City For An Evening Out While Another Iconic American Company Prepares For Bankruptcy."
The RNC's Gail Gitcho added: "If President Obama wants to go to the theater, isn't the Presidential box at the Kennedy Center good enough?"
So what if Korea is launching nukes and Iran is threatening waterways?
So what if our economy is collapsing?
So what if you and I are having to tighten our belts and even taking our kids to see Up at the movie theater is beyond our means?
Your thoughts?
Posted in Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
But have you ever TASTED the fries from Five Guys? Mmmmmm! Delish! Worth taking the presidential motorcade to VA. *evil grin*
Posted by: TulipGirl | May 31, 2009 10:15 PM
How much money could he have saved the country by sending one staffer for a burger or taking his wife to a Broadway show while he was already in New York for something else? It seems like the common sense the rest of us have to exercise is totally lost in the face of a potential photo op.
Posted by: Shannon Miller | June 1, 2009 7:26 AM
Isn't it fun having a spendthrift in the White House?
Posted by: Kim | June 1, 2009 8:59 AM
Barak and Michelle's Excellent Adventure.
While the "useful idiots" fawn and slobber.
Posted by: A Mac and a Mug O' Joe | June 1, 2009 10:04 AM
