Obama Spends Nearly Half His Presidency Outside Washington - Plans to Travel More

reply to post by nixie_nox


I'm not researching this "stuff": most of the links out there are hard right which you would completely disregard anyway...but its "out there"except for what has disappeared from servers.
Google is your friend.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com...

www.waynemadsenreport.com... (251 links)

eponymousflower.blogspot.com...
www.freerepublic.com...

I left out all the examiner.com stuff...
Hope you don't hurt yourself on any really big belly laughs...

It's not like this really matters.

Obama is only a puppet and plays a tiny role in the grand scheme of things...

Just another sign that the system is failing, though.

Sorry if I didn't read other posts.

I think it's obvious, the economy is in the crapper, so he's going all around the globe selling mad drugs/weapons to make some quick cash. Either that or he's stressed out from all his vacations, so he needs to take more vacations to alleviate the stress

Originally posted by tiger5
can you prove that the costs of the politician travelling outweighs the benefits of the trip(s).
... PS I know it would be tough to analyse costs and benefits

I'm not going to go .. line by line .. down the last two years of this POTUS' time in office. I can't be bothered and I've got too much to do today (including going to the dentist .. which I hate .. UGH! ) My quick answer is this .... OF COURSE the costs of much of much of the travel outweigh the benefits. A few quick examples before I go off to the dentist ...

Obama's one day 'vacation' to Florida .. to swim in the inlet with his daughter. This was somehow going to show the country that Florida beaches are safe and that people should vacation there. All that money for this unnecessary photo op. He took it near the end of vacation season when most folks had either already gone on vacation or had other plans booked. It was a total waste.

Recent Hawaii trip. Sure, he can spend his own money how he sees fit. I dont' care about that. But why didn't he do like Bill Clinton and stay in the very nice facilities on the military base? This would have saved us taxpayers money that was otherwise spent on additional security, etc. It would have been safer and easier for the Secret Service to deal with as well.

Spending our tax money to go campaign for his potlical brethren across the country. All POTUS' do this. It's absurd that we the tax payer should pay for whoever the POTUS is to go campaign for other lousy politicians.

etc etc.

reply to post by FlyersFan


You do know that the president isn't a prisoner right?

You seem to be under the impression that this particular president should act like a criminal and be basically locked up. Guess this particular president doesn't deserve to have any freedom whatsoever huh?

LOOOOOL, funny what you guys criticize Obama for. There's so many things you could criticize, like no public option for his HC plan, caving in when it comes to Wall Street reform, and on and on...

Yet you focus on his physical location. If he'd spend most of his time in Washington, you'd claim he's out of touch with the country because he's not leaving that city often enough.

Laughable attempt at smearing the guy...and there's so many ways you could criticize him.

As if he couldn't take care of business when not in Washington. For crying out loud, we live in the 21st century, we have email, mobile phones, the Internet, video conferencing...the physical location of the president is completely irrelevant. If he wanted, he could hide in some bunker in backwater Alaska and still do everything he needs to do as president.

FF, I wonder how you know that the taxpayers are paying for his vacations... Here's what I found as I researched this topic.

Presidential Travel: Policy and Costs

When a trip is for an official function, the government pays all costs, including per diem (food and lodging), car rentals, and other incidental expenses. When a trip is for political or unofficial purposes, those involved must pay for their own food and lodging and other related expenses, and they must also reimburse the government with the equivalent of the airfare that they would have paid had they used a commercial airline. When a trip involves both official and political activities, a formula determines the amount to be reimbursed for that part of the trip involving
political activities.

Air Force One - Hawaii Trip added .0000006% to the taxpayer burden

Air Force One goes on approximately 100 missions per year. That's about once every 3-4 days.
One additional trip for a vacation adds approximately 1% to the Air Force One budget.
The Air Force One budget makes up less than a hundredth of 1% of the Air Force budget.
The Air Force budget makes up less than 25% of the budget of the Department of Defense.
The Department of Defense budget is only 23% of the total Federal Budget.
So.. let's add up 1% of .01% of 25% of 23%. That trip added .0000006% to the taxpayer burden.

If you made $50,000 per year, you'd pay approximately $.0003 (3 hundredths of a penny).
...
To say that the president and his family have to be shut-ins because the law says they must be protected by the Secret Service and aren't allowed to book a flight on United Airlines 1) isn't fair to the president or his family 2) doesn't take reality into account.

Originally posted by MrXYZ
If he'd spend most of his time in Washington, you'd claim he's out of touch with the country because he's not leaving that city often enough.

That's the bottom line, for me. No matter what he does, people are going to criticize. He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
** That's the title of the article.

He has spent half his presidency outside DC.
He says he wants to spend more time outside DC.
Yes, travel comes with the job.
However - IMHO - Obama (and Bush43 before him) seem to like excessive travel at our expense.

CBS News - Obama By The Numbers

The Washington Examiner - Obama Spends Nearly Half His Presidency Outside Washington

On "Meet the Press" December 26, top White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said President Obama's "biggest regret" is that the severity of the economic crisis forced him to "spend almost every waking hour in Washington focusing very hard on solving that crisis" and thus kept him from traveling the country to connect with the American people. According to Jarrett, Obama recently told aides, "I really want to figure out a way where I can spend more time outside of Washington listening and learning and engaging the American people." Jarrett says that in 2011 the president's schedule will "reflect that priority" -- that is, include more time outside the nation's capital.

But it turns out Obama has already spent nearly half his presidency outside Washington. As of January 2, Obama has been president for 712 days. According to figures compiled by CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, who serves as a sort of unofficial White House record-keeper, Obama has spent 339 of those days -- nearly 48 percent -- outside Washington

Where's Barack? Report sayas Obama Spends Nearly 50% of Time Traveling

CBS News’s Mark Knoller, who regular compiles White House statistics, released numbers on Friday showing that the president has spent nearly 50 percent of his presidency outside Washington, D.C. As of January 2, Obama has been president for 712 days, reports the Washington Examiner. For 339 of those days — about 48 percent — Obama has been MIA from Washington.

“According to Knoller, Obama has spent 176 days on domestic trips, 70 days on foreign travel, 58 days on vacation, and 35 days at Camp David,” The Examiner’s Byron York writes. And “you can add a couple more vacation days to the total before the president returns from his break in Hawaii.”

For comparison against Obama who is in office two years.

CBS News - Bush by the numbers - 8 years
* The Texas Ranch was out of DC but it was considered 'The Western Whitehouse'.
It was for work and the cost to the taxpayers was rather small compared to 'vacations'.
But still .. would rather he have stayed in DC than go to Texas. There was no need for it!

IMHO 'domestic trips' is a bogus use of our tax money. There is no need for us, the tax payer, to pay for many of these trips. They are usually campaign type trips for the imps of the same party as whoever the POTUS is. I can see domestic trips to visit problem areas, etc. (although I'm sure less expensive underlings can be sent to gather info) Sometimes it is needed. But I'd bet not that often.

I couldn't find a 'Bill Clinton by the Numbers' (or others) to also add for comparison.
If anyone finds them, please post ... thanks.

Okay .. here we go .. expecting the same ol' responses but I figured I'd post this story anyways. Obama zombies go ahead and flame away .. deflect away ... attack me instead of the story .. and defend His-Highness. Others .. have fun piling on and bringing up all sorts of examples of how those in the office of POTUS have abused travel and stolen our tax money in order for themselves to live a high-end lifestyle with lots of travel, etc.

( I'm in a mood, eh? Yeah ... it's a long story.)

edit on 1/3/2011 by FlyersFan because: (no reason given)

I think this just about sums it all up!


Bugger how can I upload a picture?????????????????? without a URL.

reply to post by FlyersFan



Jokeshop thread.

If Obama never left DC, the Party of No would squawk that he has sequestered himself away from the people and answers only to the machinations of the Capitol.

Hate the guy, by all means...vote him out next election if you can. But it would be refreshing if some folks stopped viewing the world through "Obama is Evil" glasses and found lives of a more positive inclination.

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


I find threads like this quite uplifting and refreshing. I mean, when that last guy was in office, I was too worried about his policies and actions as president to even give one thought to which house he slept in on his "vacation." Apparently things are looking up.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

Jokeshop thread.

If Obama never left DC, the Party of No would squawk that he has sequestered himself away from the people and answers only to the machinations of the Capitol.

Hate the guy, by all means...vote him out next election if you can. But it would be refreshing if some folks stopped viewing the world through "Obama is Evil" glasses and found lives of a more positive inclination.

Back to your pancakes eh...
He won get over it,.
he's gonna be under a microscope.and should be.

We could've used a little more outrage keeping stimpy'jr. inline.

Originally posted by 46ACE
We could've used a little more outrage keeping stimpy'jr. inline.

Nope! Wasn't allowed.
Can't talk bad about the shrubbery in a time of war, that is unpatriotic!
I was reminded that almost every day by Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, FOX, etc.
You do not talk bad about the president during a time of war.
You always respect the office regardless of the man.
Rah rah rah rah.

I guess that tape broke early 2009?

Originally posted by 46ACE
reply to post by nixie_nox

 

I'm not researching this "stuff": most of the links out there are hard right which you would completely disregard anyway...but its "out there"except for what has disappeared from servers.

You could have stopped at "I'm not researching this stuff".

Nuff said.

Efen hillarious. "I'm not researching this stuff...just claiming it as fact!!!" "Check some fringe right wing blogs if you need proof!"

BTW - "Dissappeared from servers" isn't a conspiracy..it's when someone outright BSing gets publically called on their BS and instead of owning the BS via a revision/edit/retraction/apology...they wipe it from thier blog and pretend they never said it. I see it all the time when fact checking BS articles. Click the source article enough times, trace it to it's origin and you find some nutbag blog that is pretending they never said it.

I'll be direct and honest here....folks that eagerly create hate filled fiction and lies in hopes of influencing other people...and those other people that knowingly pretend it is fact...they really grosses me out.

I can actually feel it in my stomache. It makes me a little sick to know I have kids that will grow up in a world with a large number of folks who are morally bankrupt and eager to spread lies....just becuase you don't like someone doesn't make it OK...did your father never teach you that?

I have close conservative friends...our commenality is honesty.

Anyone that can spread lies and smile at themselves in the mirror...I don't want to know.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
I can't be bothered and I've got too much to do today (including going to the dentist .. which I hate .. UGH!

)

Off topic ...

This just reminded of a story I hadn't thought of in years.

I used to have a serioussly crazy old Aunt. She also hated going to the dentist. When she was maybe 70 years old she went in for a root canal or something similiar.

When the Dentist came out and stood beside her chair and asked her if she was ready to begin...she reached over with one hand from the dentist chair and took a firm hold of his "manhood" and said..."Now Doctor...we are not going to hurt eachother...are we?"

Thought you might enjoy a giggle before the dentist visit.

Originally posted by 46ACE

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

Jokeshop thread.

If Obama never left DC, the Party of No would squawk that he has sequestered himself away from the people and answers only to the machinations of the Capitol.

Hate the guy, by all means...vote him out next election if you can. But it would be refreshing if some folks stopped viewing the world through "Obama is Evil" glasses and found lives of a more positive inclination.

Back to your pancakes eh...
He won get over it,.
he's gonna be under a microscope.and should be.
We could've used a little more outrage keeping stimpy'jr. inline.

By all means, our...and I mean my own as well...elected representatives should be kept under a microscope. But even a broken clock is right twice a day. When everything that happens is a reflection of how bad Obama is, perhaps that perspective is a little skewed? Oh, and FF is female... as in 'She won't get over it'.

Yeah.....lets blame obama...hip-hop-horrrayyyyyy. Lets blame the puppet rather than the puppet-master sitting in some DUMB waiting for the 2012 events to unfold from the comfort of his "own" premise...sorry I meant tax-payer property.

Yesterday it was bush/blair/cheney/rumsfeld...who rumsfeld coincendently made an astonishing discovery 1-2 days prior to the events of 9-11 that 2.3 trillion dollars where "unaccounted" for in the pentagon budget and then "miraculously" the paper trail that "allegedly" existed was wiped out that "fateful day". Bush and blair(reminds me of the "gay bar" joke..."coincidently again") who lyied and manipulated the public about afghanistan and iraq while in reality it was all about opium and oil respectively. Hip-hop-horrayyy

I wonder who is better at golf though. Who has a lower handicap? Now that is something to be proud of and depends on who plays the most..which means who is less often at their office fooling people and passing outrageous legislation.

Who visits europe more? Who wastes more taxpayer money...last time I heard republicans spend twice as much as democrats....but guess what...the national debt keeps rising and rising and rising. Its been like that since 1913....at least! Now that is something to research but no...lets keep hitting obama under the belt with cheap shots only a fox network could come up with. Man you "guys" are soooooo predictable! Dammm!

And what about Al "the church of global warming high priest" Gore? How is he doing recently after his worldwide sham got exposed for what it was? How many extravagent homes and cars has he managed to acumulate by lying through his teeth with the manipulated *to the extreme* data? Was it "bad science" after-all or just *bad intentions*?

What about clinton and levinsky? How are they doing? What about Ronald McDonald "the hollywood stuntman, lets privitise everything and blow the budget to hell with SDI and the make-believe russian enemy" Reagan...how is he doing lately? Oh I forgot the man is dead and deserves some respect...the same respect shown to Phil "piano wire dangling around his neck" Schneider.

Hip-hop-horrayyy...sad, sad, sad world we live in....lets focus on the puppet(s)...brings less grievance I suppose! If you guys wanna make a big deal about who spends more time at washington SCREWING your very existance...fine no problem BUT what about the 11-12 trillion dollar defeceit? How on this god-green(or maybe satans) earth did america accumulate that debt? Who made it worst??????



PS: Sorry I am running out of patience for hypocrites!!!

You know what really scares me? The fact that some people seem so brainwashed, they don't see reality anymore....

It doesn't matter who's in power. I fully believe Obama had good intentions...but the fact is, Washington has been taken over by CORPORATIONS. For crying out loud, they gave corporations the same rights as PEOPLE!!! No matter who's in power, the lobbyists and corporations are the real force behind everything. Ever since Reagan when he allowed CEOs of top financial companies to become his "advisors", corporations slowly infiltrated the government.

A few decades ago, the government served the people. Nowadays, it serves CORPORATIONS...companies like BOEING.



Ever since Reagan, deregulation rampaged wild. And while it lead to some short-term (!!!) profits that catapulted the US to the top of the food chain, eventually, it will be the very thing that leads to its downfall. China and India are picking up speed, and it's clear that the world will move from a UNILATERAL system where the US is the leader, to a MULTILATERAL system with multiple leaders. This will happen no matter what. The thing that matters is how the US will cope with this fact...will it try a futile battle to stop this trend, or come up with new approaches to adapt?

We live in interesting times, but it makes me incredibly sad to see people discuss the physical location of a president in the 21st century when we're facing such important changes. It tells me that the US people aren't prepared enough for these changes, and that's kinda sad.

Every day you see TV puppets blame Muslims, other countries, Assange, Wikileaks, your neighbour's dog for all the issues...when it's evident that the issue lies at home. The political system is CORRUPT, infiltrated by companies. By the people, for the people doesn't exist anymore. Nowadays it's by the people for the corporations!

Fix the damn system and face reality. Adapt to the changing economic and political environment. This ridiculous imperialistic unilateral approach to politics and economics is beyond laughable and will lead to the ultimate downfall of the US if they don't change course fast!

Instead of focusing on trivial things like the president's location, you should focus on how the fix stuff that's wrong. A lot of it has been show by Wikileaks, and a ton is available for free on the Internet. Do your own research, don't listen to shills like Beck&Co!!