POV from the UK - " First Lady’s lavish spending & a presidency more out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.."

To get an unbiased POV, you need to rely on a "disinterested observer's point of view" - someone who has no real stake in what is ongoing as they will not bring bias to the issue.

This article is from the UK Telegraph and the writer gets to the heart of the point. It must be nice to just do what you want as the "little people" are picking up the tab. By any measure, the present administration and First lady enjoy taking as many vacations as they can fit in. They see that the " free ride " is likely to be up in 2012 and they want to get what they can while it lasts.

Sad to say but we'll be paying for the Obama's foolish ways for a long time as they are on the Government tab for the rest of their feckless lives.

Michelle Obama’s taxpayer-funded spending is an embarrassment for the White House
By Nile Gardiner US politics - October 5th, 2011 - UK Telegraph

Although ignored by most of America’s liberal-dominated media, several online US news sites are reporting that Michelle Obama’s grand tour of southern Africa earlier this year cost American taxpayers nearly half a million dollars – and that's just for the flights. This follows in the wake of claims this August from sources inside the White House itself that the First Lady may have spent “$10 million of taxpayers’ money on vacations alone in the past year.” Without all the figures available, it is impossible to establish the total cost to the public purse of Michelle Obama’s 42 days of holiday during that period, which included her trip to Spain last year (though not the Obamas' recent sojourn in Martha’s Vineyard).

But we do now know for sure that her visit to Africa in June, with a sizeable entourage in tow, cost taxpayers at the very minimum $424,142 in transportation costs, according to figures obtained by Washington-based watchdog Judicial Watch. As the 'Washington Whispers' blog at US News and World Report noted:

First lady Michelle Obama's family trip to South Africa and Botswana in June cost taxpayers well over $424,000, according to new accounting based on Air Force manifests obtained by Judicial Watch, a taxpayer watchdog group.

The use of Air Force aircraft alone for the June 21-27 trip cost $424,142, said the group, and that doesn't include the food, lodging, and ground transportation for the 21 family and staff members.

The First Lady’s supporters will argue that her African tour advanced relations between the United States and South Africa and Botswana, even though it also included an safari in Kruger National Park near Johannesburg. I suspect most Americans, however, will view this trip as a waste of public funds at a time when the US is running a massive budget deficit and faces a national debt of more than $14 trillion. In an age of austerity, even the First Lady should be expected to make sacrifices, not least when she is spending other people’s money. It is a matter of public interest how public figures spend taxpayer funds, and Mrs Obama should be held to account. As Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton notes:

This trip was as much an opportunity for the Obama family to go on a safari as it was a trip to conduct government business. This junket wasted tax dollars and the resources of our overextended military. No wonder we had to sue to pry loose this information.

There can be no doubt that this latest revelation about Michelle Obama’s spending is an embarrassment to the White House at a time when the president is talking about spending cuts, and at least trying to give the impression that he is reining in the deficit. It is also a symbol of the gulf between the taxpayer-subsidised, privileged lifestyle of America’s ruling elites in Washington, compared to the tens of millions of hard-working Americans who are struggling to pay the mortgage, hold on to their homes, put food on the table for their families, and simply make ends meet.

80 per cent of US voters still think the country is in a recession, according to Gallup, and the First Lady’s lavish spending will surely go down badly in a nation that has taken a real hit economically under President Obama’s failed policies. It is hard to think of a presidency more out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans than the current one, and Mrs Obama’s actions will only serve to reinforce that impression. Could Michelle Obama prove a liability for the president as he seeks re-election in 2012? Based on this evidence, the answer is definitely yes.

Nanny State Crappola from FLOTUS....Like we need her advice...

I have two words for FLOTUS about her ideas of " DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO." - The two words I have for her ain't " Happy Birthday " -

Do us all a favor and take a hike as YOU look like one who needs to lay off the Cheesburgers. What a Hypocrite....

President Clueless and First Lady "Michelle modern-day Marie Antoinette" continue to muck it up.....with our $$$ and future on the line

The Media is all in a tizzy as President Clueless is going to make his announcement of what his decision will be regarding troop levels in Afghanistan.

With a full understanding that popularity polls are against continuation of the troop levels we presently maintain, when did we decide that critical national defense decisions are made by polling ? Did Churchill, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower or Kennedy make key decisions based on polls?? NO - they listened to the military experts and made decisions on what was BEST, not what would make sure they got re-elected.

The issue with Afghanistan still comes back to a "You can pay me now or pay me later" issue. The Liberal media tried this same arguement with IRAQ - too expensive, unwinable, etc. etc - They were wrong then and they are wrong now. We are invested and we need to follow the mission through to completion not look for the fast & cheap way out....haste make waste, but then again, common sense was never a virtue in the present adminstration.

The feckless idiot we have in the White House presently cares about only one thing - HIMSELF. How it effects HIM. He could give a crap less about the military and his track record shows that....Wednesday we will get to see what the empty suit says....I'm not holding my breath as the key issue will be how many times he uses the word " I " in his statement because as far as he's concerned, it has always been all about himself....think about it, the fool has written TWO Autobiographies. That speaks volumes....

And secondly, we have First Lady " Michelle Modern-Day Marie Antoinette" jetting off to Africa with her Mom, daughters and a few other friends in tow....more "Official Travel" when in reality, she's just making sure she finds more creative ways to spend our money....The article enclosed shows how clueless she is as she has pretty much mucked it up as First Lady....again, another prime example of it being " all about me".....What a clueless pair.

All I can hope is that the American people wake up and elect someone brighter than the dim-bulb & his "Mrs. Spends-alot" we have in the White House presently.


Michelle Obama heads to Africa, stirs criticism
By Rachel Rose Hartman - Yahoo News

First Lady Michelle Obama embarks today on a weeklong trip to Africa to spread goodwill. But the trip is already stirring criticism, making it just the latest travel choice by the First Lady to draw some negative press for the White House.

The aim of Obama's tour, which will take her to South Africa and Botswana, is to engage with young people--especially girls and women--who play prominent roles in academic life and civic leadership, while also furthering awareness on health and wellness issues.

But, as Washington Post writer Krissah Thompson notes, the trip is already provoking disappointment from Africa advocates who argue that President Obama, whose father was Kenyan, hasn't devoted enough time to the continent since winning the presidency. Mwiza Munthali, public outreach director of TransAfrica Forum, argues that U.S. officials "are not seeing Africa as a big priority. There has been some ambivalence." The president has made just one trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his Jan. 2009 inauguration and has chosen not to accompany his wife on her journey.

This isn't the first time the First Lady has come under fire for travel plans. Below we review some of Michelle Obama's past controversies around trips:

• The glitzy Spanish getaway: The First Lady raised eyebrows last August when she decided to jaunt off to Spain, commanding top-dollar luxury accommodations in the middle of a recession. The New York Daily News called her "a modern-day Marie Antoinette."

• The greeting leaders with creative diplomacy in England, Indonesia: The ever-delicate question of international etiquette has made trouble for the First Lady on a couple of foreign trips. In April 2009, she broke royal protocol and hugged Queen Elizabeth, causing a major stir in England and elsewhere. Then in Indonesia last November, Michelle Obama shook the hand of a conservative Muslim minister, a form of social contact between the sexes that violated his religious vows. He blamed the First Lady for the violation.

• The visit to immigration-complicated Mexico: Critics accused the First Lady of organizing a frivolous trip to Mexico in April 2010 with Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden. While that trip, too, was aimed primarily on establishing contact with younger civic leaders, some detractors called out the First Lady for taking time to travel to a country that's long been a flashpoint in U.S. immigration policy. Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, for instance, argued that the trip was little more than an effort to promote "illegal alien shamnesty."

" DOPRAH "doesn't get it.....She tries to scold Americans for not showing enough respect to President Obama - She's the one who is clueless....

"DOPRAH" just doesn't get it......she has reached a point where she feels " entitled " to whatever she wants, no matter how ridiculous. What else would you expect from a selfish narcissist????

She feels that POTUS " deserves respect " - what a stupid statement

Let me spell it out for you, you fat, feckless cow.... RESPECT must be EARNED. Period.

It is not "deserved" by anyone. To say so shows a glaring lack of understanding what " RESPECT " means....

Let's examine the definition: Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity (such as a nation ), and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem.

While all should respect the office of the Presidency, the man in the position has to earn the respect of the people by his actions and how he handles the job. With negative ratings holding steady in the low 50s, a "I know what's better for you than you do" attitude, acting clueless on the economy, jobs and foreign policy, it is difficult to imagine how he or DOPRAH could feel they " deserve respect.....no one "deserves it....it must be earned.

Why would self-centered DOPRAH think that way ??? Because she, along with POTUS & FLOTUS are clueless and out of snyc with the American people.....POTUS came in promising Hope & Change but only change we have seen is him blaming everyone and everything for his inability to handle the job....he has not earned anything but our continuing dissatisfaction with his poor performance.....

And as for you thinking you can lecture me or any other free-thinking American about how we can disagree with you and the Idjit-in-Charge, I have two words for you, and they ain't " Happy Birthday "

Do us all a favor, shove some more Mac N'Cheese in that big fat pie-hole of yours so we don't have to listen to any more of your stupidity.....


Obama 'deserves respect' says Oprah Winfrey as she blasts critics of the President in a television interview
By Daily Mail 11th February 2011

The first lady of television has called on critics of President Obama to show 'some level of respect' - even if they weren't in support of his policies.

Speaking on a special edition of Morning Joe today, Oprah Winfrey said the presidency is a position that 'holds a sense of authority and governance over us all'.

'I feel that everybody has a learning curve, and I feel that the reason why I was willing to step out for him is because I believed in his integrity and I believed in his heart.

'I believe that what he really wants is for this country to be greater, stronger more innovative. Those principles are what really enforces his beliefs.'

Speaking about the current negative mood of the country Oprah quipped: 'Everybody complaining ought to try it (the presidency) for a week.

Middleboro Jones would gladly relieve him of his job.....even I could do a better job than this feckless idiot.

LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE - Something we see in the British Prime Minister David Cameron but sadly, not in our own President

LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE - To wit, Leading by example is not restricted to those in managerial roles. Employees can show leadership by example to their colleagues. And companies can show leadership by example with innovative products despite having no managerial authority over their markets… Pure leadership means showing the way for others, either by example or by explicitly promoting a new direction.

We all intuitively know that leading by example is the most powerful form of leadership, but ironically it’s often the most overlooked. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Leading by example is something that we can all do, no matter our role, no matter our position. We can all make the choice and take responsibility to be the change we want to see. We can all take initiative, we can all make the decision to “show the way for others”.

LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE....something that is sorely needed and absent in our President. He recently declared Washington, DC as " too partisan " but spent the last 18 months being advised by Rahm Emmanuel, " MR. PARTISAN " personified....so again, we have a President who lives by the rule of " DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.." - True to form for the "empty suit in residence" at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Now, let's look across the pond to our British Allies. The newly elected leader of the UK, Mr. David Cameron

From the website of the British Conservative Party

"David Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010 after a General Election in which the Conservative Party won almost 100 additional seats. He leads a Conservative / Liberal Democrat Coalition Government inspired by the values of freedom, fairness and responsibility.

This was the first time in over a half a century that two British parties had come together to put forward a programme for partnership government - to provide Britain with a strong and progressive government, and to put aside party differences to work for the common good and national interest.

David Cameron's philosophy has always been making sure people are in control and that politicians are their servants, not their masters. His belief in social responsibility, not state control, as the best way to solve problems is already evident in the decisions he has made since the General Election."

The difference between our President and Mr. Cameron is wholly apparent. Mr. Cameron has the good sense to know that cancelling a lavish Holiday at a time his own people are under difficult economic conditions demonstrates true leadership....He understands the perception that this could cause and he makes the right choice."

Our President ??? Nope, parties on, allows the wife to party in Europe this summer as he has NO CLUE as to how bad things are for those effected by the recession...He feels that sacrifices are for those who aren't privileged enough to be like him...a member of the elite inside group.

The President and his wife could have spent their summer vacations on the Gulf Coast, in California where things are tough...Nope, they had to send FLOTUS to Europe and vacation on Martha's Vineyard.....clueless and foolish....a terrible example.of what a LEADER should do when things are tough.

I value the Brits as they are our truest Allies. The President has treated them with disdain...

I salute Mr. Cameron and The British People...Good Show...I was glad to stand tall with our British Allies while I was in Afghanistan and always. Brilliant....They are just bloody brilliant.


David Cameron cancels Thailand holiday
www.metro.co.uk/news/847869-david-cameron-cancels-thailand-holiday

Nov. 21, 2010

David Cameron has decided to cancel his family holiday to Thailand because of concerns about how the public would react, according to reports.

Human rights groups warned Mr Cameron his holiday would be seen as tacit backing of the Thai government's policies, while some commentators suggested he had chosen the country because he was friendly with its old-Etonian prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The human rights issue entered Mr Cameron's thinking as he reached the conclusion he had to cancel the trip, but was not the decisive factor.

Instead, he was said to have been worried about the impact it would have on his image and was unsure how the electorate would view the lavish holiday at a time when his government was making widespread spending cuts.

.Mr Cameron would have paid for the trip himself, but his advisers warned him he risked looking out of touch with the public and unsympathetic to the plight of people struggling to cope with the effects of the country's economic problems.

The prime minister is known to be keen to distance himself from the Conservative Party's long-standing reputation for being uncaring, but recently faced criticism when he hired an official photographer using public money.

He eventually backtracked and moved the snapper to the Tory payroll, following complaints it looked bad at a time when so many public sector workers were concerned about their jobs

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/847869-david-cameron-cancels-thailand-holiday#ixzz15wXKwzXM

The "non-denial denial" is alive and well at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington Post editor Benjamin C. Bradlee with the creation of the phrase " non-denial denial" to describe the evasive Oval Office answers given to the press in response to questions posed to the Nixon White House.

The phrase became more popular when featured by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their 1974 book "All the President's Men" describing evasive statements by then-Attorney General John N. Mitchell.

Now we are seeing history repeat itself, in much the same way based on what was released to the press today. According to Carla Bruni, wife of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a new book written in collaboration with Bruni claims that when she asked Michelle Obama how living in the White House was, she replied "Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it!"

This statement supposedly took place this March during the Sarkozy visit to Washington. So the immediate response from the White House is the "non-denial denial" from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. 'The words attributed to the First Lady of the United States were never said,' " Gibbs tweeted, linking to a news report saying Michelle Obama denied making the remark.

The whole issue here is that the remark sounds like the conversation that would occur between Michelle and Carla, with FLOTUS never believing that Carla would repeat the remark to anyone. If we take that in connection to her husband's recent remark of " They talk about me like a dog", the remark by FLOTUS sounds like something we would anticipate her saying. There is also no reason for Ms. Bruni to lie about the remark.

Life in the "Goldfish Bowl" that is the White House is likely not fun, and I am sure it must be a terrible burden to bear, always having to be "ON" all the time. BUT how about thinking about how life is more "hellish" for the 95000 families that lost their homes to foreclosure in August 2010?? Or how much life is hell for the families who are living on unemployment and trying to keep from going under ?? or maybe life is more hellish for more than 43 million people that are living in poverty and almost 51 million who have no health insurance coverage. The level of poverty is the highest since 1994 and "the number of people in poverty in 2009 is the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates are available."??? I believe their life is a little more hellish than that of our First Lady.

It is often in unscripted moments when people have let their guard down that you will truly find out who they really are. This seems to be one of those moments and it does state a lot about a FLOTUS - She has a history of this kind of "hoof-in-mouth-disease" stating that when her hubby got the nomination that "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.".

Many might state that there is too much scrutiny of the reported off-the-cuff remark made by FLOTUS but it seems like the White House has paid homage to President Nixon and made him proud by how quick they are to refute any remark or story that could give the public insight into what the OBOT White House really thinks & says. The "non-denial denial " is alive & well in Washington.

Maybe the change that we could use is people who take responsibility for what they say & do, unlike the White House which perpetuates the mistakes of the past by denying what they said when it becomes public.

It's all the fault of the American Voters, because you're stupid, uneducated, bigoted, greedy racists....

THIS is the message that the Democrats are sending the voters, if not directly, through their proxies in the media.....columnists and Op-ed writers who support the agenda of the DEMS have been sending this message to us for months....." You just don't get it - you're not sophisticated enough - you're bigoted, etc., etc.

WELL let me clue them in - WE, the American Voters GET IT alright - and from what I have seen of the polls for the upcoming November Elections, the DEMS are really going to get it - In Spades.

I for one, am tired for being lectured by POTUS, FLOTUS, BIDEN, PELOSI, REED, GEITNER, POLITANO, HOLDER and the whole group of pin-heads who think they are the smartest people in the world when I wouldn't put them in charge of a bake sale. They are not only NOT the smartest, they have underestimated the intelligence of the voters along with not being in tune with American Voters values.

Get over yourself Mr. President & Madam Speaker - You aren't doing what the American people want and all the name-calling in the world will not change our opinion of your lame agendas...you'll get the message when the voters make the President a "lame-duck" for the last two years of his term and send Ms. Pelosi out of her lofty perch.....and none too soon.

Walking Definitions of the word " Hypocritical "

Those who live an honorable life will tell you that the satisfaction is not in doing it, but being an example for others.....leadership by example is a fundamental practice for those who desire to demonstrate that they are willing live what they preach.

NOW then, we come to the polar opposite - The Hypocrtical Person who says one thing, and does another and/or preaches one thing for others, but does something different for themselves....

Defined as follows - " a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs."

POTUS has been saying for months all Americans need to sacrifice. So what does FLOTUS do to show her concern?? She takes a ritzy vacation on the Spanish Coast at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the US Taxpayer.....POTUS goes to Chicago to party with DOPRAH and his friends....

Official travel by POTUS & FLOTUS is a separate subject ( when on official US Business), but by the end of the summer, our First Lady will have taken EIGHT vacations this year alone - 8 ! These are trips not connected to her duties First Lady but trips where they have been on a personal vacation.

While all are entitled to time off, the "image" this projects shows that The First Family are not sacrificing at all.....and are Hypocrites who preach one thing for Americans who are under economic challenges, and do another when it comes to their own self-centered world.

Most Americans will be lucky to afford one vacation this year but when the First Family helps themselves to 8 in one year, we have reached a point where there needs to be a serious course correction....

A course correction coming via a ballot box near you in November 2010. Hopefully...

==============================

First lady under fire for her glitzy Spanish vacation
By Holly Bailey - Yahoo NEWS - 5 Aug 2010

As her husband celebrated his 49th birthday in Chicago with Oprah, first lady Michelle Obama was halfway around the world, on vacation with her 9-year-old daughter, Sasha, in Spain. The two are traveling on what the White House has described as a four-day "private trip" with several Obama family friends along the country's ritzy southern coast.

Of course, no first lady's life is truly ever private, and already plenty of drama is swirling around Michelle Obama's foreign jaunt. Some critics have laid into the trip's price, while others are highlighting an apparent diplomatic gaffe between the United States and Spain.....

Yet the bigger public furor concerns the cost and appearance of the trip. In a scathing editorial published Thursday, New York Daily News writer Andrea Tantaros trashed Michelle Obama as a "modern day Marie Antoinette" for taking such a glitzy vacation while most of the country is struggling to make ends meet.The Obama entourage is staying at the luxury Hotel Villa Padierna, a Ritz-Carlton property often described as one of the world's top 10 hotels. Rates range between $500 and $2,500 a night. It's not clear that the Obama delegation picked this hotel specifically, or if the Secret Service — which often gets final say over where a protectee stays — made the accommodations call.

Either way, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that the first lady will pay her personal expenses — as will the friends who are traveling with her. But that only covers a small part of the ultimate expense, given that she has full-time Secret Service protection and has to travel with an entourage of staff. That cost, as well as her travel on board an official Air Force charter plane, is covered by taxpayers.

As the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet reports, by the end of the summer, the first lady will have taken eight vacations. That includes a June trip to Los Angeles, where she and her daughters attended the NBA Finals, as well as an upcoming trip to the Florida Gulf Coast next weekend and a 10-day visit to Martha's Vineyard later this month with the president.

Michelle Obama is hardly the only first lady to travel overseas without her husband. Laura Bush and her daughters, Barbara and Jenna, traveled to Africa in 2007, where they went on safari. Yet her trip was regarded as an "official" visit and included several public events. According to the White House, this trip is entirely private, save for a photo-op with the Spanish royal family, who has invited the first lady and her daughter for an official visit.

Priorities for POTUS...." Things Could Be Worse"

Guess POTUS didn't have any issues that were more pressing for him to work on other than appearing on "The View"....Not like there's anything serious that he could have devoted his time to.....no, everything is well.....

As the President said the other day while on the Campaign trail, " Things could be worse..." Great message....basically, " Suck it up" and stop complaining - Sorry Mr. & Mrs. America - too bad you can't get a job or your house was repossessed...it could be worse....

HOW? How could it be worse for the 15 million Americans who can't find work and for all those working for less than they deserve??? Or for those who are working twice as hard because they are afraid of being the next person laid off??? HOW could it be worse???

He did make an interesting comment though about the TV shows that he is his wife watch; The President joked that he decided to appear on "The View" because it was the only show his wife Michelle watched.

"I was trying to find a show that Michelle actually watched, and so I thought this is it, right here," he said.

"All those new shows, she's like, eh, let me get the clicker."

Guess that from this comment, he & FLOTUS don't watch "DOPRAH" any more....what happened there??? I thought "DOPRAH" was their biggest cheerleader......That remark must have gone over well at HARPO Studios in Chicago......Looks like he "misspoke" again......

Hopefully, in a few years, POTUS & FLOTUS will have all the free time to watch TV they need when they are shown the door.....None too soon.....Like POTUS said, " Things could be worse..." -

NO - It couldn't be worse because this Doofus & his collection of Village Idiots are in charge.........