Plain and simple. The criticism of the First Lady taking a vacation is unwarranted from my prospective. If she wants to fly to her daughter and close friends to Spain, who am I to comment or criticize. She is a private citizen, she has every right. As to the costs, well the costs could be the same even if she did choose the some spot in the U.S. For example, when the Obama's fly from DC to Hawaii that flight is further and presumably costs more than a trip to Spain.
Give it up chronic complainers!
August 6, 2010
First Lady’s Spain Vacation Draws Criticism
By PETER BAKER and RAPHAEL MINDER
WASHINGTON — There is nothing like a little Mediterranean beach vacation to unwind. Unless you happen to travel with dozens of Secret Service agents, trailed by photographers and dogged by controversy.
Michelle Obama hoped to enjoy a quiet summer break in southern Spain with her younger daughter and a few friends. But the Andalusian getaway has gotten away from her as the European media document her every flamenco dance step and critics back home question the wisdom of such a lavish vacation, which involves at least some taxpayer money, in a time of austerity.
As Mrs. Obama and her entourage toured the picturesque southern city of Ronda on Saturday, the blogosphere has been filled with commentary about what many saw as a tone-deaf trip in the same week the United States reported the loss of 131,000 more jobs. “A modern-day Marie Antoinette,” scolded a New York Daily News columnist.
The White House was reluctant to discuss Mrs. Obama’s trip. The only official comment came from Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, at a briefing last week when he said that Mrs. Obama “is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I’d leave it at that.”
Privately, officials note that the first lady is paying for her own room, food and transportation, and the friends she brought will pay for theirs as well. The government pays for security, and the Secret Service, not the first lady, determines what is needed.
Officials said some reports of the trip had been exaggerated. Mrs. Obama is not traveling with 40 friends, one official said, but with two friends and four of their daughters, as well as a couple of aides and a couple of advance staff members. The staff is with her because she will pay a courtesy call on King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía on the island of Majorca on Sunday before flying home to Washington.
Every first lady in modern times has flown on government planes with a sizable security detail, and it is hard to pinpoint the cost to taxpayers. The Air Force jet she flew costs $11,351 per hour to operate, according to several reports, meaning a 14-hour round trip would cost nearly $160,000. The first lady would reimburse only the equivalent of first-class commercial tickets for herself and her daughter Sasha, the rest of the seats being occupied mainly by Secret Service. Officials said their friends flew on separate commercial flights.
Laura Bush took vacations without her husband each year of George W. Bush’s presidency, traveling with her Secret Service detail on a government plane to meet friends for camping in national parks. But that never generated as much furor, in part because vacationing in the United States is not as politically delicate for American leaders and their families as doing so in foreign countries.
The Obama family traveled to Acadia National Park in Maine in July and plans to spend time in the Gulf of Mexico and on Martha’s Vineyard this month.
“It’s always very difficult to lead a private life when you’re a public person,” said Anita McBride, who was Mrs. Bush’s chief of staff. “No one would deny any of our hard-working public officials an opportunity for a vacation. Everybody needs that. But I think the more expensive or lavish a trip might be perceived, the more criticism you invite.”
While some Americans frown, the Spanish eagerly welcomed the Obama group, seeing it as a boost for a tourism sector severely hit by the country’s economic downturn. Since her landing at Málaga’s airport on Wednesday, Spanish media have covered the first lady’s trip almost minute by minute, from a tour of the Alhambra palace to a stop at an ice cream shop.
Their Andalusian stay was to end Saturday night with a charity dinner organized and attended by celebrities like Eva Longoria Parker and Antonio Banderas.
Mrs. Obama and friends have been staying at the five-star Hotel Villa Padierna near Marbella, where at least 30 rooms were reserved for the entourage, including those for security. The hotel is one of Spain’s more luxurious establishments, with rooms ranging from $500-a-night to a $6,600 suite with 24-hour butler service.
The Spanish excitement grew so much that the media reported one study claiming the publicity from her visit would be worth $1 billion for a country. The attention has gotten so intense that the Spanish newspaper El País chastised local authorities for showing a “puerile enthusiasm” for the visit.
Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Raphael Minder from Madrid.
