First couple's NY date: a campaign promise kept

[underpants]

Source: AP/Yahoo

NEW YORK – President Barack Obama made good on a campaign promise to his most important supporter Saturday night — his wife, Michelle.

The president and first lady jetted to a date in New York late Saturday afternoon, aides and media in tow.

"I am taking my wife to New York City because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished," the president said in a statement an aide read to the press.

After dining a little more than two hours at Blue Hill, a West Village restaurant touted by New York magazine as a "seminal Greenmarket haven" that features food grown by chef and owner Dan Barber on his upstate farm, the president and first lady headed to the Belasco Theater to make it in time for "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090531/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

[natrat]

1. wow he actually kept a promise, shocking

[babylonsister]

2. Wow, your response, shocking. Not. nt

[Cha]

28. How petty...

SHOCKING SHOCKING i say.

[babylonsister]

3. How romantic! There's one for the memory bank. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

4. We Spent Many Millions So The Obamas Could See That Show

And I'm sure that tens of thousands of person-hours were wasted by people sitting in traffic blocked for the motorcade.

Very uncool. That money could have saved lives, or housed the homeless.

[truthisfreedom]

5. Look at the big picture. He inspired couples everywhere to splurge a little, to care for each other

To spend a little extra time remembering to smell the roses along the way. A few million well-spent, in my opinion. The Obamas reminded us about the importance of romance.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. Yes, and I'm sure you never spend money on such frivolous things

I'm certain you only spend money on charitable causes and never indulge in entertainment nor foolish personal relationship building activities. As you said the money spent on such activities could be used in better, more useful ways and you no doubt are the type who leads by example rather than a self-righteous hypocrite balanced precariously on a high horse.

[MannyGoldstein]

11. There's Middle Ground, Of Course

I'm not against folks having a good time, but a night out in DC would have cost a small fraction of this, and would have shown that Obama is a good steward of our tax dollars.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MannyGoldstein]

24. Interesting Link Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

3. Civility: Treat other members with respect. Do not post personal attacks against other members of this discussion forum.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. Read the article. They do go out for occasional dates in DC

This was a special event, not a typical date.

My husband took me to the Yucatan Peninsula once to celebrate my health. Why? Because he'd promised me he would if I got better, which I did. While this date isn't the same situation, it's similar enough. Sometimes you do special things for your spouse due to the things they have to endure.

Frankly, I'm relieved to pay for a president who is a patron of the arts, rather than one who considers flying from their pig farm in Crawford, TX in the middle of the night to DC for "emergency" signing of a BS, propaganda legislation regarding a private issue between a family and their brain dead daughter/wife, to be a valid use of taxpayer money.

[MannyGoldstein]

19. And They Should Continue To Go Out On Dates In DC [nt]

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. Yes, they should.

And if they ever again go on a date in NY they should again do what's in their power to keep the costs down.

[Demit]

32. I'm glad to have a President who lets people see he knows there's life outside the bubble of DC.

I'm glad he gets out amongst the people in other cities, doing the everyday things that regular people do, and I think it gives people a lift to see him do them. You think you're only begrudging him, but you're also begrudging the people who came out to see him. Clucking your tongue at the cost is both small and short-sighted.

[Demit]

7. The money you spent on your internet connection this month could've fed somebody hungry.

Let's all play Manny's self-righteous game!

[MannyGoldstein]

12. Shades of Gray, Dear Friend

See #11.

[Redwraithvienna]

14. So are you using broadband or dial up ?

Dial up tend to be cheaper ...

Big / Medium Car or small car ?

Holdidays at home ? Or more then 50 miles away from home ?

Only the cheapest food around or some read to eat meals ?

Drinking coke / Coffee / tea ? Or just plain water (hey maybe even tap water ... saves money)

[MannyGoldstein]

18. So, If The Obamas

demanded a personal space shuttle, at a cost of $100 billion, you'd be cool with that?

This is exactly the reductio ad absurdum game that you're playing with me.

[Liberal Veteran]

20. That's okay, I think complaining about a 200 mile trip a Broadway show...

...is about as petty as complaining about Dijon mustard.

[Redwraithvienna]

25. Na not really ...

a night out in DC costs probably half of what a night out in NYC costs.

Motorcade, Security is the same, the one thing that gets added is the flight.

really ... storm in a water glass

[bluestateguy]

8. Oh brother

It has been demonstrated that when the Obamas get lunch at a deli or eat at a restaurant, the establishment gets free publicity ,and their business booms.

The arts have been going through hard times of late. The arts, especially Broadway, are important to New York City. A presidential visit could be very helpful to this struggling industry right now. And New Yorkers were happy to have him.

What a bunch of victimology.

[underpants]

10. Damn they could have made a buck off of it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8441940&mesg_id=8441940

[madeline_con]

15. Do you have a link on the cost?

I think you're talking out your ass.

[MannyGoldstein]

21. Mea Culpa - You're Right

I just read that Obama used a Gulfstream Jet instead of Air Force One, so the cost was probably substantially lower than I thought. I doubt if it was less than $1 million, given the motorcade cops and so forth, staff, secrete service, and so forth, but probably not several million.

[Binka]

30. Manny Is Taking A Break From Crushing The Right Wing Fringe

To crush folks on DU. He does that a lot. The talking out of his ass is a given.

[960]

33. oh dear.... it's back

[Binka]

34. Holy Crap 960 Is Talking Out Of It's Arse Again

Still here Merced Boy? Poor thing. Must hurt real bad. I'll be thinking of you...or maybe not.

[Cha]

29. So glad you agree

with the wingers..them and their petty jealousy who don't look for anything expect whining attacks.

[dionysus]

39. manny, if obama takes a crap you're complaining. come on.

[asjr]

9. I think it is wonderful. If the Chimp and Laura

had done it no one would believe them.

[RufusH]

13. I guess it's easier to see a Broadway show than take one little step toward repealing DADT or DOMA

:shrug:

Oh well.

[ClarkUSA]

23. On a Friday night date with his wife? Apples and oranges much?

:eyes:

[RufusH]

26. He's the one that claimed to be keeping a campaign promise, not me.

Apples and Apples if you ask me.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cap]

31. Well, it's cheaper than flying to a ranch in Crawford TX,

or cheaper than flying home to Chicago.

[EndersDame]

35. They should have gone out for chicken wings and then to Wrestlemania

like any other decent non commie, elitist terrorist American couple :silly:

[WriteDown]

36. Don't talk bad about chicken wings.

Mmmmmmm.

[EndersDame]

37. They are good drunken munchies

[onecent]

38. For the people who are complaining that our President and his

wife have a little R & R, at taxpayer extense -- I suggest someone try to figure out how many
REGULAR airline seats the Bus* twins took in 8 years.

They drank in every bar in 25 states in the first year.

More power to our young couple in the White House.

BUs* was NEVER at the whitehouse on vacations OR FOR ANOTHER 265 DAYS WHILE he destroyed our country.