Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
Michelle Obama's summer vacation to Spain with daughter Sasha is coming under attack by some critics who say her trip shows poor taste during tough economic times.
Although Obama and her friends paid for their own hotel rooms and meals, the first lady requires Secret Service security everywhere she goes.
The AP writes:
But the first lady does travel with Secret Service protection -- at taxpayer expense, cost unannounced -- and the expense of flying her military jet to Europe and back must have been considerable. Her entourage did book 60 rooms at one posh hotel, where the average room price is about $660, and claimed more rooms elsewhere. And police did shut down a 100-meter section of a Mediterranean beach for the Obamas during a Friday visit to Estepona.
In a time of nearly double-digit unemployment and economic uncertainty, that sounded more than a little off-key to many in the U.S. And although the White House seemed blindsided by the criticism, perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise.
It's tough to draw the line between the need for a vacation and not offending people, said the chief of staff of former First Lady Laura Bush.
"Obviously, this was a risk," Anita McBride told the AP. "The more expensive a trip, the more criticism it invites. And yet that has to be balanced against the fact that the first lady, like anybody else, is in need of a vacation and a change of scenery."
White House adviser David Axelrod also defended the popular first lady:
"Yes, she is the first lady of the United States. She's also a mom. She wanted to take her daughter on a trip. They went with some friends of the family to celebrate another little girl's birthday. There aren't all that many places to go where you get privacy. Wherever you go, security is going to come, not because she asked for it, but because that is a nature of her, of her position in life," Axelrod said on CNN."
Obama joined a friend, the doctor who delivered her two daughters and the doctor's children on the trip to Spain at her friend's suggestion. While there, Obama made an official visit to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia.
Democrats said the criticism was ridiculous.
"It's wrong to talk about the first lady's family vacation as a politician," Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine said Monday on NBC's 'Today' show. "She's a mom."
The criticism does seem a little over the top, especially since Obama paid for her own hotel and meals. For security reasons, she obviously must have Secret Service protection. Secret Service also probably doesn't want the first lady on a commercial aircraft for safety reasons.
The fact of the matter is that if Obama were to fly to California and stay at a $50-per-night beach motel, she'd still require Secret Service security and would still have to fly aboard the presidential aircraft. Michelle is not the president of the United States. He was back at the White House working, but even he deserves an occasional break.
This is a mother-daughter trip that Obama probably would have taken if her husband where still a senator or a college professor.
It's good to see parents spending time with their children, and it's good to see children being exposed to other cultures.
Unfortunately, in today's ugly political climate, issues that are not issues are used to distract the public from the real issues facing the country, such as the unemployment rate and the inability of the Senate to pass any bipartisan legislation, even if the legislation is helpful to Americans.
Even uber-popular First Lady Jackie Kennedy faced criticism 40 years ago when she took her daughter on vacation.
The AP writes:
When Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline spent three weeks at a seaside villa in Italy in 1962, the biggest controversy seemed to be over the first lady's decision to take Caroline water skiing. A London tabloid, which displayed a photo of Kennedy holding her crying daughter's head above water after a spill, proclaimed the outing "madness." A Colorado minister criticized her for appearing in public in a bathing suit and staying out until the early morning hours "while away from the U.S. and her husband."
See how ridiculous that sounds now. Don't fall for it.