Andrea Tantaros has penned a scorching editorial for the New York Daily News deeming First Lady Michelle Obama a “modern-day Marie Antoinette” for her vacation in Spain with her daughter. “The First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her 'closest friends,'” Tantaros writes, pointing to a CNN report that Michelle Obama and her group are expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms. “Not exactly what one would call cutting back in troubled times.” “CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports the C-32A (757) the First Lady used to fly to Spain – one of the planes that usually serves as Air Force Two, and sometimes Air Force One – operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour. So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 – double for the round trip. The White House says that as a policy, official trips by the first family are paid by the government but all personal elements paid are personally. Since this is a private trip, the White House seems to be suggesting that the Obamas are personally paying all costs associated with the vacation. But there appears to be some wiggle room there, in part because the Secret Service must protect the First Family, and the cost to taxpayers would presumably go up during travel. A few years ago, as Knoller notes, the Government Accountability Office did an analysis of presidential travel at the behest of Congress. The Secret Service refused to divulge how many personnel and costs are associated with safeguarding a protectee during a trip, citing its policy to not give up information that might be used to gauge a level of protection.” I have no qualms with Michell and her daughter taking a vacation. I DO, however have problems with them taking along “40 of their closest friends”, taking up 60 to 70 rooms in a luxury hotel that rent for $400 to $2500 per night, and expecting the American taxpayer to pay for it. We paid for their $70,000 'date night', and it cost us $250,000 for their Air Force One tour of Manhattan. With our economy in the toilet and unemployment sky high I'd like to see Washington's rich and famous pay for their OWN damned trips. added by: 2helenahandbasket
