The Obamas are Living It Up!  

I agree with you. This is hypocrisy at its worst. And yes, he'll find a way to make ordinary citizens like you and me pay for this little outing, only he'll put it under the guise that we're "being patriotic" and "sacrificing" during these difficult times.
It makes me sick. Only six months into his administration and this happens. I don't know if America will be able to take 3.5 more years of him. I guess we'll see.

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Hi Riptide, we had the same thing in the UK with Blair popping off to his vacation spot of Italy all the time - I think that was freebies provided by friends but there must have been some payback to said friend in political favour. Not to mention the expense to the tax payer of paying for all the additional security involved. He didn't even have the decency to holiday in England and put his money back into his own economy. They've all been at it for years.

I ask myself the exact same questions about why President Obama can't at least pretend to be on our level.

And I'm fully aware of EVERY rebuttal out there: "Bush took vacations all the time!" "He's the President and deserves to go on vacation." "What, do you want the President to stay at a Motel 8?" "What's the big deal? Every President has done it!" "Oh, so Obama shouldn't enjoy some luxuries just because a lot of people are suffering?"

Look, the bottom line is really, totally, seriously nonpartisan. Barack Obama, America's President, is the highest-ranking person in our country whose words carry the most weight. He is the one who habitually stands on his podium, reads from his prompter, and preaches to the American people that we're in the worst--maybe even worse!--economic situation since the Great Depression. He is the one who calls for change, a redistribution of wealth, and for a sacrifice and redirection of thought from Americans who may spend and overconsume.

Why, for the love of all things holy, can't the President join the club and maybe holiday at some place less posh and lavish and completely out of reach of the average American?

He presents himself as a man of the people; a man who can empathize with the daily struggles. Yet, every other week, news breaks about Obama living as an elitist.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. If you got the money, the time and the means, go for it. But it's like I read here about Sanford (though the situations aren't nearly the same!): Don't claim to be about something if you're not. If makes you a hypocrite.

IMO Obama is proving day by day that he could care less about how he appears to the American people. He is so arrogant it does not bother him that he showed his racists tendencies last week and now he is just rubbing the noses of all the out of work American that his motto is not Yes We Can but Yes I Can... do what I damn well please!

Most of the time, those who have, don't want to sacrifice. They feel they have no need to sacrifice. Even when they do contribute to a cause or donate to a fundraiser, etc, they want to write it off on their taxes. Well, if you really cared about the cause or fundraiser then you wouldn't be doing it to get a piece of paper that will save you money on your taxes. I'm sorry, but when I make a donation, I NEVER ASK FOR A RECEIPT FOR MY TAXES. I give because I want to give, because it is better to give than to receive. Maybe Obama is paying for his "vacation" but who is paying for his Secret Service, etc while he is on this vacation? Yup, you guessed it, me and you and every other tax paying citizen in this country.

I read this story in Yahoo! a while ago and it was kind of shock at the price tag too. I mean, 35,000-50,000 A WEEK is a lot of money. Even if he paid the rent from his own pocket, the thing is, the whole vacation is very, very expensive. Yes, he deserves a vacation but does it have to be this expensive? The Obama admistration complained about those Wall Street CEOs getting bonuses but they endorse lavish spending by the President. The President keep asking the people to sacrifice but it seems he is doing the opposite thing in this case. Isn't that double standard?

It is hard to explain spending so much money for a vacation when the economy is in such shambles. Maybe a little less vacations, parties and family globe hopping and a little more of fixing the mess our country is in.

~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~

**STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**

Before people blast me because it is not my money they are spending, this is my opinion.

He has perhaps the most high stress job in the world at the moment, he deserve a little break away. And to totally get a real holiday is not to be disturb when they are there. He could have ask to build a summer palace but instead reduce to live in a small town. Sure the country is in trouble, which is no fault of his, and if he is using his money, it is doing two thing, putting money back to the US economy and giving the country confidence that better times is coming.

If you have the money and the most stressful job in the nation, why not take a break. That family had money before he was the president anyways, both he and his wife are well educated and he has written books and that kind of stuff. If you can afford it why not. I dont hear people complaining about celebrities buying $200,000 cars and taking the same type of vacations. And the country was being run to the ground way before he took office, so the whole economic situation is not even entirely his fault.