Nine hundred and forty-three years ago, William the Conqueror of France landed in – and conquered – Britain.
Has there ever, since that time, been such a spectacular (if peaceful) landing in Great Britain than the glorious (but officially non-royal) expedition of President Barack Obama?
In the midst of our worst financial recession since the Great Depression, His Excellency Barack evoked rave reviews (actually critiques) from Britain’s Observer and Washington’s Times. They noted the following manifestations of Obama traveling resplendence:
- an entourage of 500 staff members;
- an armor-plated $300,000 limousine;
- a fleet of decoy helicopters;
- a team from the White House kitchen;
- a gymnasium onboard Air Force One;
- six physicians, nurses and other medical personnel;
- eight staffers for first lady Michelle Obama.
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QUESTION: How many of the Air Force One fleet does all this require and at what total cost of our nation, which has so many millions unemployed?
It needs to be remembered that all members of this Obama travelcade not only need seats on those Air Force Ones, they must also be housed and fed each day in European hotels – which, if attractive enough for the Barack expedition, are by no means inexpensive.
So, I ask a second multi-part question:
Would it have been possible, for the sake of desperately needed U.S. government economy, for President Obama to have economized as follows:
- reducing that traveling staff from 500 to 50, or less;
- ordering the immediate and permanent closing of that obscenely wasteful luxury of a gymnasium aboard Air Force One;
- reducing the first lady’s traveling staff from eight to two;
- reducing the number of traveling physicians from six to one or two;
- determining that the commander and chief of the Air Force shall eat Air Force food while aboard Air Force One – instead of the luxury of transporting a team from the White House kitchen.
