Instapundit had the above image the other day, and Frank Ross at Big Journalism ties it to this article in the Daily News,
Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation
But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns – or forgoing them altogether – the Obamas don’t seem to be heeding their own advice. While many of us are struggling, the First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her “closest friends.” According to CNN, the group is expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms, more than a third of the lodgings at the 160-room resort. Not exactly what one would call cutting back in troubled times.
Reports are calling the lodgings of Obama’s Spanish fiesta, the Hotel Villa Padierna in Marbella, “luxurious,” “posh” and “a millionaires’ playground.” Estimated room rate per night? Up to a staggering $2,500. Method of transportation? Air Force Two.
To be clear, what the Obamas do with their money is one thing; what they do with ours is another. Transporting and housing the estimated 70 Secret Service agents who will flank the material girl will cost the taxpayers a pretty penny.
The Seattle Times is also complaining, Lavish Obama vacation in time of economic turmoil raises eyebrows
First lady Michelle Obama is on a five-day trip to a luxury resort along with a handful of friends, her younger daughter, Sasha, aides and Secret Service personnel.
While her friends arrived in Spain on their own, Michelle Obama flew in on a type of aircraft also used by Vice President Joseph Biden. It costs the government $11,555 an hour to operate the plane, according to the Air Force. Assuming a nearly eight-hour flight to nearby Málaga, the total round-trip cost of the flight is about $178,000.
The Obama family will reimburse the government an amount equal to two first-class tickets — for mother and daughter Sasha, Air Force officials said. A round-trip first-class flight to Málaga costs about $7,400 apiece, without discounts or restrictions
But not to fret, Robert Baghdad Bob Gibbs insists this is “a private trip”; plus another minion insisted,
An Obama administration official said the first lady is accompanied by “a handful of longtime family friends — it’s moms and daughters — and it’s minimal staff.” One aide on the trip is the first lady’s deputy chief of staff, Melissa Winter.
Don Surber links to the Telegraph UK article with video. Go ahead, watch the video and come back and tell me with a straight face whether that’s a “private trip”:
In the spirit of true democracy, Michelle and friends closed the beach, and dined on
sea bass tartare, strawberry gazpacho and sardines, followed by a main course of lobster with seaweed risotto.
The meal cost about £40 a head, according to El Mundo
It adds new meaning to “living off the fat of the land.”
Today Michelle was visiting the King and Queen of Spain, and did not miss a chance to wear yet another unflattering outfit,
The trip will conclude today but let’s hope the memories linger in November. The Obamas are going on another vacation in Martha’s Vineyard later this month. That would be nine vacations this summer.
How many vacations have you had in the past year?
But back to Instapundit; today he has the Obama Sun King,
You may recall that Chris Muir sent me that one a while ago:
