Barack & Michelle’s Saturday Night Date… Finally, the REAL Cost to Taxpayers Revealed | Video Update: WH Press Sec Gibbs Dodges Reporter’s “Date Night” Cost Question
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on June 1, 2009
Barack and Michelle Obama leaving for their $73,000 $250,000 'hot date' to NYC for dinner and a Broadway show; Washington Times revised the date's cost to $250,000
This weekend date of POTUS and FLOTUS to New York City is bothering me more and more.
Maybe it’s because MY weekend date with my beloved hubby consisted of watching several DVDs of “The Best of Friends” that I bought from the 99-Cent Store for just a buck apiece—five high-quality episodes on each DVD, so an entertainment bargain, but it’s just NOT the same as several jet and helicopter rides to NYC and a ride in a presidential limo to watch a Broadway play and eat out in a posh Big Apple restaurant.
No fancy “date dinner” for us, either (although, my son loved my frugal chicken & pasta shell casserole so much, he had three helpings). Evening drinks were glasses of pink lemonade over ice (I also made myself a couple of homemade iced mocha drinks… room temp coffee, a tablespoon powdered cocoa, 3 tablespoons non-fat dry milk, 1 packet of Sweet ‘N Low, and lots of ice cubes, mixed thoroughly – quite refreshing on a hot Arizona evening).
And that’s it. (The Obamas had a couple of pricey martinis each, in case you were wondering, although I think they paid for those themselves).
The White House has been frustratingly mute and/or evasive about reporting the cost of this adorable POTUS/FLOTUS date to the media or to taxpayers (ahem, TRANSPARENCY in this administration, guys, remember The One’s campaign promise?), but the UK has been having a happy-hey-day, diggin’ the crud out of this since Saturday.
And so now, finally, the REAL (estimated) total cost to us, thanks to the tenacity of The Weekly Standard using an Internet currency converter (shazam!), converting UK pounds to US dollars and all that smarty-guy stuff.
Obama in New York
The Weekly Standard | June 1, 2009
By Victorino Matus
Over the weekend, President Obama went to New York to take the first lady to a Broadway show—a promise he made to her during the campaign. But how much did it cost the taxpayers? The White House isn’t saying, though the Daily Mail has done some calculating:
For transportation and security, the cost was approximately $73,000. (The expense was originally in British pounds but thanks to some investigative journalism, I have managed to convert the pounds into U.S. dollars. The highly complex transference process involved use of the Internet.) According to the Daily Mail, “The President used three planes, one to carry the couple and two to ferry aides and reporters all the way from Washington. The cost of each flight was thought to be nearly [$24,000]. The bill was pushed even higher with the use of two helicopters, one to take the Obamas to catch their plane in Washington and another to zip the party into Manhattan from JFK airport.” In addition, “Police also shut down New York streets for the motorcade to pass through so they could get to their date on time.”
And not only that, but they closed the harbor at the last minute. Or did they?
Passengers awaiting the 4:30pm SeaStreak ferry at the East 35th Street dock to depart for New Jersey stood around for two hours until the next SeaStreak came along. My sister and her family were among the passengers who were not told anything. Not until my brother-in-law called SeaStreak at 5pm did he learn out about the last-minute cancellation. When the boat finally arrived, people were told by a crew member and by an announcement on the intercom that the cancellation was due to the president’s visiting New York City.
Needless to say, there was outrage. “He better have liked the play,” one angry passenger supposedly said about Obama. When the ferry passed Pier 11 and people caught a glimpse of one of the presidential helicopters, another traveler was overheard saying, “There’s your tax dollars at work!”
Except whoever made the announcement was misinformed. Having just spoken with the friendly folk of SeaStreak, I was told that the closing of the harbor, which was all very last minute indeed, was because Prince Harry was playing in the Second Annual Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic on Governor’s Island.
But did I mention how much the president’s trip cost?!
*****
The latest revised price tag for the Obamas’ date, per Washington Times, is now approaching a quarter of a million dollars… way to go, Barack! How many magazines will splash you and Michelle on their covers in the coming weeks, incredulous and swooning that, with your busy schedule, you still manage to fit in your blushing bride for a night on the town… what a dreamy hunk you are! How many of those sycophant mags will commend you for confidently sucking yet another quarter-of-a-million dollars out of American taxpayers for your date?
*****
Since Washington is ignoring millions of taxpayers protesting the billions of dollars given out in ill-conceived bailouts (hello, General Motors), the global warming cap-and-trade taxation (our taxes on electricity, gas, coal, and other sources of energy will rise between $1,000 to $4,000 a year, depending on who you listen to), the sin taxes on a growing number of items (Denver wants to tax cooking oil), the looming financial disaster that is going to be socialized health care, then, heck, I’m going to make a big deal about the cost of Barack and Michelle’s date. Even if it makes me look petty.
Because maybe then, more Americans will wake up and see this for what it is. It is indicative of what are Barack Obama’s true priorities.
He talks the talk ALL the time about “hard times ahead,” “having to make sacrifices,” “skin in the game,” but it’s so obvious that he never means himself. Or his family. Or his cronies. Just the “little people.” He does not have the best interests of Americans in his heart.
His spending, spending, spending is out of control. He has been warned by his own staff of experts, but he blows them off.
We are facing DECADES of hardship and doing without so that Obama can spend us into oblivion with his flawed, naive idea of what he wants to make America into, and he doesn’t care what kind of debt he will bury us under. He’s like a rich, self-absorbed college frat boy with Daddy’s credit card and keys to Daddy’s sports car. Doesn’t care how much he spends as long as he gets what he wants, when he wants it.
Obama will bankrupt us if he isn’t stopped. Many Democrats are alarmed at his radical ideas and his wild spending. We could become Sweden or Zimbabwe if this doesn’t stop soon… it is not yet too late to reverse.
If you haven’t gotten it yet, this blasted date of Obama and Michelle’s should make you annoyed or angry. And you should wonder: What do you REALLY know about Barack Obama before he started running for president?
Do you know about all the loans and credit card debt that he and Michelle racked up before he entered politics? How they were living thousands of dollars beyond their means for a number of years? How he has never gone without, but has no problem expecting others to do so?
Our president has an arrogant disregard for the cost of anything that we, the taxpayers, fund. He feels he is entitled to whatever it is he wants. The self-serving behavior is out there every day, that of him being a reckless spendthrift (click here for more info) but if you’re talking millions or billions or trillions of dollars, I think too many ill-informed Democrats (especially the younger ones) glaze over. The dollar amount is too big for them to even grasp. How many of us has ever had a million dollars, let alone a billion or trillion? It’s like Martian talk.
But a date between a husband and wife (no longer newlyweds, with a couple of kids, who live in a mega-huge house that has a theater and a bowling alley inside it) that costs American taxpayers a whopping $73,000? (see UPDATE below)
UDATE: Washington Times has revised the date’s cost to $250,000. Zowie. THAT they should understand and maybe get upset about it. And investigate the other areas that he is frivolous with our nation’s money. China is getting nervous and upset about the loans they made to him, because it’s looking like this spending spree will put us into a position that we won’t be able to pay them back. When China gets nervous about the credit worthiness of the United States of America, we should ALL get worried.
Learn more, contact your congressman, vote the parasites out next year. The spending MUST stop…
Knowledge is power. Power is paramount. If complaining about the Obamas’ outrageously expensive date makes me petty but informs a few more people who weren’t aware of “the real Obama,” you know what… I can live with that. I really can.
Barack and Michelle Obama on their $73,000 date to New York City... courtesy of taxpayers
WH Press Secretary Gibbs Dodges Reporter’s Question of Cost of Obama’s “Date Night”
New from Hot Air: Reporter to Gibbs: Um, why do taxpayers have to pay for Obama date night?
Related reading:
Reuters, Front Row Washington: Obama’s Date Night on Broadway
Hot Air: Blaming Obama for the night on Broadway? and Obama vows: I have not yet begun to destroy the economy
Jeffrey Jena, Big Hollywood: Are We Witnessing a Greek Tragedy?
Gateway Pundit: First Family to America: Everyone Must Sacrifice, Everyone Must Have Some Skin in the Game… We’ll Be In Hawaii and Obama Upset With Commoners For Criticizing His $74,000 Date Night
Mail Online.uk: How Obamas’ romantic £120 trip to Broadway racked up a £45,000 bill — ..that’s for three private jets, two helicopter rides, extra planes for security and closing roads for motorcade
Associated Press: Broadway’s bright lights shine on first couple
Christian Toto, Big Hollywood: Another Men’s Mag Votes for The One
The Swamp: Obama: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’
TheHill.com: Obama in L.A.: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’
Michelle Malkin: Spendapalooza: The Obamas’ vacation at Martha’s Vineyard
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Prez Spendthrift: Luxury Hawaiian Mansion for the Obamas’ Christmas Vacation (video) and The Obamas’ Personal Debt vs. Obama’s Demand That Americans Cut Back and Party Boy Obama Livin’ It Up Like Royalty While Americans Struggle to Buy Food and Let Them Eat Steak! Wastrel Obama on Collision Course with His Spendthrift Ways and Holy Spendthrift, Batman! NYC Air Force One Flyover Cost Taxpayers $328,835!
Fire Andrea Mitchell: White House refuses to release cost of Obama’s little “date” in New York
Phelim McAleer & Ann McElhinney, Big Hollywood: Come Fly With Me | Obama’s Broadway date and Eco-Hyprocrisy
Burt Prelutsky, Big Hollywood: Obama Takes Michelle Out For a Date and Us For a Ride
Scared Monkeys: Michelle Obama… It’s in the Shoes… Especially Those $540 Lanvin sneakers… Nice Image in Face of Depression… Let them wear Keds
Hot Air: Understanding Obamanomics: We’re gonna need a bigger graph and Obama’s “Honest Day’s Work” and Suddenly, business leaders fear Obama
bloghopenchangery: I survived the Obama’s NYC/Broadway “date night”!
About the author
At the end of your article you mentioned that you may be considered “petty”.
You are by no means petty for reporting this.
This man is an outrage, and his wife is no different for not refusing the “date”.
I’m beginning to think the whole of government is clinically insane.
What other frivolous spending? He had his favorite Chicago pizza delivery guy deliver his favorite pizza to him while overseas. The guy had to be flown in, etc.. Which means the pizza cost about $10,000 per slice.