Will the media complain about cost for every trip Obama takes?

[liberal N proud]

From the Chicago Tribune:

Obama's Air Force One flight to Chicago and back Monday to cost $236,000

By John McCormick | Tribune reporter
June 15, 2009
As President Barack Obama flies Monday to Chicago for a midday speech on health-care reform, the round trip on Air Force One will run about $236,000, according to government estimates of the operating costs for one of the top symbols, and perks, of the presidency.

But that does not include such expenses as Secret Service protection, motorcades and helicopter transports.

After landing at O'Hare International Airport, Obama is scheduled to spend about 2 1/2 hours here. To avoid snarling traffic on the Kennedy Expressway, he likely will be taken from the airport by helicopter to a location near the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

A Government Accounting Office report in 2000 showed Air Force One cost $54,100 to operate each flight hour, or almost $67,000 in today's dollars. It is a tough number to estimate, however, because of so many variables and fixed costs that could be included in or excluded from the calculation.

But the bill, White House aides say, is one that is largely unavoidable because of the security and communication needs required by the modern president. Perhaps aware of the costs of Air Force One, the Obama family has used the plane for just one recreational trip to Chicago in his first five months in office.

As expensive as that trip was, it is still roughly half the distance President George W. Bush routinely flew to visit his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

The cost of Air Force One recently made national news after a backup aircraft that sometimes carries the president made a controversial, low-altitude flight over New York City as part of a government photo opportunity, panicking workers and prompting complaints from local officials. That flight cost more than $300,000, according to Air Force estimates.

Obama's air travel made news again when he and First Lady Michelle Obama traded the big bird for a much smaller Air Force jet made by Gulfstream for a recent Saturday evening "date night" in New York City. It was a lower class of service, apparently allowed because of the brevity of the trip.

Anywhere the president flies, the government picks up the tab because he is always the commander in chief and might at any time be called into a crisis. Some limited cost-sharing is done if he is traveling to a purely political event, such as a fundraiser.

"The White House is committed to following all of the relevant rules and regulations regarding the reimbursement for travel expenses," spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

The small pool of reporters and photographers that travels with Obama on Air Force One for both government and political trips reimburses the government for the cost of seats.

When Obama made his first flight to Chicago as president, on Feb. 13, it took 106 minutes from Andrews Air Force Base to O'Hare.

His flights to Chicago also are cheap by comparison with those President Ronald Reagan made to his Western White House, in Santa Barbara County, Calif., a cross-country trip that was roughly 4,700 miles round trip.

But Obama could shatter that cost with a trip to Hawaii if he decides to go there for his family's annual vacation between Christmas and New Year's. The round-trip cost of a flight from Washington to Honolulu on Air Force One would be roughly $1 million, according to the GAO estimates.

The massive blue-and-white aircraft, a specially outfitted version of a Boeing 747, makes a statement everywhere it travels. Through Friday, Obama had taken 54 Air Force One flights, according to the White House.

On his first Chicago visit as president, Air Force One landed at O'Hare from the southeast and taxied to a holding area in the airport's northeast corner. Some airfield operations were briefly stopped during the plane's departure and arrival.

Temporary flight restrictions again will be in place while Obama is here. They do not affect commercial flights, but small-plane pilots who fail to comply with certain procedures face the risk of a fighter-jet escort from a 60-nautical-mile-wide area.

[email protected]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-air-force-one-15-jun15,0,2483578.story



Where were they on all the trips bu$h took to the pig farm in Texas? At least most of Obama's trips are work related.

[Clio the Leo]

1. Yet they WONT tell you that his motorcade sat in traffic for 15mins...

..... yesterday on his way to play golf. I suppose he could have flown Marine One, but he didnt.

[babylonsister]

2. Okay, Chicago Trib, what are the alternatives to get the president

to Chicago safely and to remain safe while he's there?

That's right, there aren't any.

[lamp_shade]

3. Makes me wonder at what point the media will wake up and realize they The President

hasn't yet, isn't now, and probably never will to respond to such petty distractions.

[high density]

4. Yes.

The media is still wired for the GOP machine, and their concern of the day is what runs the news cycle.

I don't ever recall such focus on the cost of Bush's trips. This double standard all started with Fox News pumping up the expenditures for the inauguration activities.

The paragraph about AF1 buzzing NYC really cracks me up. It's like, "Hey reader, don't forget about this other stupid thing that you should be outraged about!"

[jberryhill]

5. Yes they will... Obama is the first president ever to travel anywhere

Ooops, no, I forgot. Of course every president travels, and moving the president is not simple.

However, the difference is that this president is an uppity black man who is using white people's planes and equipment. That's cause for concern.

[tavalon]

6. Yes. Next question

He's a Democrat. He will be criticized any time he does something a Republican would do with impunity.

[madmom]

7. Makes me wonder, when ole' man bush did hid parachute jump, was that

military personnel he was using? and if so WHO paid for it?