The Obamas' spending habits show they are out-of-touch with the American people

The Hillsboro Argus By The Hillsboro Argus Hillsboro Argus
on April 19, 2012 at 11:15 AM, updated April 23, 2012 at 2:55 PM

By Jayne Carroll, Special to The Argus

_JAYNE_CARROLL_.JPGView full sizeJayne Carroll
Mitt Romney, barring some bizarre and unforeseen circumstances, will be the Republican's nominee for president in 2012. Without missing a beat, the Obama campaign, via their sycophants in the media, is attacking Romney as too wealthy to relate.

ABC's multimillionaire anchor Diane Sawyer, who is married to one of the wealthiest men in show business, breathlessly asked Romney if his money prevents him from relating to most people.

No one ever asks President Obama or the First Lady if they spend too much of the people's money on their lush lifestyle to be able to relate to the average American family.

Could his "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy be part of Obama's political undoing?

Obama's defenders protest that everyone expects the president to travel on Air Force One, take well-deserved vacations, and be protected by the Secret Service.

Yet the Obamas, while most Americans are struggling, seem impervious to the reality of most. Clearly, state dinners should be impressive and Air Force One and Secret Service agents are necessary perks of the presidency, but the Obamas are known to take separate gas guzzling jets, sometimes only hours apart, to the same destinations.

In 2011, the First Lady spent more than $10 million in taxpayer dollars on her vacations, including stays at five-star resorts, top-shelf vodka, and expensive massages. Recently, the Obamas' daughter took a spring break school field trip to Mexico, a country often listed as unsafe for travel. The cost to the taxpayers for this dubious trip for a 13-year-old has not been released but it involved two government planes and 25 Secret Service agents.

So what if the Obamas live like the economy is booming, with no respect for the people's money? What difference does it make? Maybe, just maybe, it sets a tone for the rest of the Obama administration.

If the president is living like Donald Trump on our dime, why shouldn't the folks in his administration do the same? Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta cost taxpayers $860,000 for his frequent trips to his California home. Panetta is required to travel by military jets for security purposes, and he has reimbursed $17,000 to the government as required. But while Panetta (whose estimated personal worth is $225 million) is slashing spending on our troops, how does he justify these too-frequent trips home?

Is it any wonder that Obama's General Services Administration spends our money on fancy hotels, lavish meals, personal iPads, performing clowns and prostitutes (oops, that was Obama's Secret Service agents)? Jeff Neely, the Obama official at the heart of the GSA scandal, was still taking trips on our dime a couple of months ago, even though the White House was aware of the scandal since May 2011.

Mitt Romney's wealth may make it difficult for him to relate to the daily financial challenges of ordinary Americans, but when he spends money, at least, it is his to spend.
