Greta Van Susteren doesn’t seem too concerned about the Republican stunt to temporarily block the nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. But last night, she spent an entire segment suggesting that President and First Lady Obama are wasteful spendthrifts for taking separate vacations next week.
In front of a graphic that blared, “JET-SETTING ON YOUR DIME?” Van Susteren noted that President Obama would head to “an exclusive Florida golf course to take lessons from Tiger Woods’ former coach and the First Lady and First Daughters going skiing in Aspen, Colorado.” She added in a sneering tone, “Separate trips mean separate planes and extra expenses. So how much are the Obamas’ weekend trips going to cost you, the taxpayers?”
She brought on Byron York to “answer” the question, even though she acknowledged he would not have the “exact number.” “Are we paying for these things twice?” she asked.
“Yeah, it cost a lot,” York told her, approximating $100,000 an hour for Air Force One to get to President Obama's “ritzy” vacation spot. York also said that “a lot of people have to go” too. Plus, he had to take a limousine and ride in a motorcade.
“We want our presidents to be safe,” Van Susteren insisted. “But the idea that they can’t go on a vacation together so that the taxpayers pay for a second one,” is what really burns her up. Not as much as say, the cost of not having universal health care coverage, apparently. Because I don’t recall a single discussion on On The Record about how that might benefit the country’s coffers. Nor do I recall any discussion about how much Sarah Palin’s high-end demands cost the cash-strapped California State University system
I also don’t recall any interest in, much less complaints about President Bush’s vacations. As Politics365 reports, "George W. Bush, was on vacation more — 1,020 days — than any U.S. President since Herbert Hoover and possibly more than any other President in history… Some claim the cost of Bush’s frequent trips to Crawford, Texas cost taxpayers upwards of $20 million, but the numbers are hard to confirm."
Meanwhile, I do recall Van Susteren complaining (along with Palin) how the Obamas’ visit to Martha’s Vineyard was “tone deaf.” Fortunately for the First Family, they all went together, apparently. I can just imagine how much more outrage there would have been otherwise.
The First Family can take the vacations they wish to. Van Susteren has no idea, nor will she ever, understand what it’s like to be in the First Family. She’s just trying to whip up and foment anger in their low-information and low-intelligence viewers, something that is a lot like getting a rat to chase cheese through a maze.
I don’t remember her being all that concerned about the cost of………anything that related to Pres. Bush.
Maybe Greta should be concerned over the “extra” cost of protecting this President because nutjobs say things like:
“If Obama gets re-elected, I’ll either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” -Ted Nugent
Even washed-up celebrities shouldn’t be allowed to threaten the POTUS without expecting to be spending a little time with the Secret Service.
