Obama On Vacation Again

To listen to some pundits critical of the President they'd have you believe Barack Obama spends more time on vacation then any other President in history. Let's set the record straight.

Who Took How Many Vacations?
According to CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller, at this same point in time of both their presidencies to date Obama has had 129 days compared to George W. Bush's 381. He also reports Obama has taken only a third as many trips compared to Bush's 58.

According to the August 9th, 2007 edition of the 'Houston Chronicle' --"On Thursday, Bush left for a weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine, and his family's summer compound, Walker's Point. On Monday, he heads to his Crawford retreat, where he has spent all or part of 418 days of his presidency, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS News White House correspondent and meticulous record-keeper."... The presidential vacation-time record holder is the late Ronald Reagan, who tallied 436 days in his two terms. At 418 days, and with 17 months to go in his presidency, Bush is going to beat that easily."


Who spent more of the taxpayers money vacationing?
According to this letter to the editor published by the 'Midland Daily News' back in February a reader pointed out, "Not only did Bush spend more days on vacation than any other president, but he used Air Force One more often while on vacation than any other president. In response to growing criticism that the president was on vacation too much, the Bush administration adopted the Rovian tactic of scheduling, “work events” while the president was in Crawford so that they could claim that President Bush’s vacations were working vacations...

Media Matters calculated that each trip to Crawford cost taxpayers $259,687 and $20 million total for Bush’s ranch flights... but there is more, much more.. Bush’s numbers only include the cost of flying the president to Crawford. The cost of transporting and accommodating staff, media, friends and family is not included in Bush’s vacation numbers."

Scott Farris at 'The Washington Post' wrote an interesting story about the "Five myths about presidential vacations". In it he pointed out, "Presidents pay for their own and their families’ lodging, food and incidentals while on vacation, which may be why they generally prefer to stay at properties they own, as guests of wealthy friends or at the official presidential retreat at Camp David."


Taxpayers' Expenses Don't End After They Leave Office
'The Dallas News' reported last year what it cost taxpayers for ex-presidents in 2012.
     George W. Bush- $1.3 million
     Bill Clinton- just under $1 million
     George H.W. Bush- nearly $850,000
     Jimmy Carter- about $500,000

"The cost totals for ex-presidents don't include what the Secret Service spends protecting them, their spouses and children. Those costs are part of a separate budget that isn't made public."


So What Have We Learned Kids?
* Geo. W used AF1 more then any other President ($20m just the trips to/from Crawford)
* Geo. W. called his visits to his ranch "work events" (aren't they all)
* President Obama has taken less vacations to date then either Geo. W or R. Reagan
* Taxpayers don't pick up the tab for "for their own and their families’ lodging, food and incidentals while on vacation."


In Conclusion(1) Just about everything you read and hear in the media regarding this is politically driven. Both sides point fingers in every direction except their own. Taxpayers are being played like a fiddle by those seeking to bash whoever's is in the oval office that is not a member of their own political party.

(2) Every president throughout history left the Whitehouse often while holding office. Perhaps too often. Criticism of Presidents taking vacations goes back as far as Washington, D.C. itself. "When John Adams [1797-1801] spent seven months at his Quincy, Mass. farm in 1798, he was accused of abdicating his office."

(3) There never was, nor ever will be a president who gets actual time off. They're all working vacations.

(4) I wish all the bullshit coming out of Washington, D.C. were roses instead. Perhaps then we wouldn't having so many blooming idiots.

Well at long last I now know what 'blooming idiots' smell like.
(I always wondered about that)
:-)