For only the second time in my adult life, I am not ashamed of my country I want to thank the hard working American people for paying $242 thousand dollars plus additional expenses for my vacation in Spain . My daughter Sasha, several long-time family friends, my personal staff and various guests had a wonderful time. Honestly, you just haven't lived until you have stayed in a $2,500.00 per night suite at a 5-Star luxury hotel. We only booked 70 rooms for our friends, staff and family. Thank you also for the use of Air Force 2 and the 70 Secret Service personnel who tagged along to be sure we were safe and cared for at all times.

Air Force 2 only used 47,500 gallons of jet fuel for this trip and carbon emissions were a mere 1,031 tons of CO2. It costs only $11,500 per hour to operate Air Force 2 and each additional plane for the other members of our party group. These are only rough estimates, but they are close (who's counting?). That's quite a carbon footprint as my good friend Al Gore would say, so we must ask the American citizens to drive smaller, more fuel efficient cars and drive less too, so we can lessen our combined carbon footprint.

I know times are hard and millions of you are struggling to put food on the table and trying to make ends meet. I do appreciate your sacrifice and do hope you find work soon. I was really exhausted after Barack took our family on a luxury vacation in Maine a few weeks ago. I just had to get away for a few days. Will write more from Martha's Vineyard where we will spend our sixth vacation this year with more of our family and friends.

Cordially,

M. Obama

So did you find this stupidity on the Sarah Palin site or the Rush Limbaugh site? I see the Obama haters are hard at work spreading crap around!

Here are two articles that talk about the cost. That was an extravagant and costly trip that the American taxpayers paid for - not all of it, I'll admit, but certainly a significant portion. Given our economic situation, I think it showed poor judgment.

Michelle Obama Criticized as "Modern-day Marie Antoinette" Over Spain Vacation - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Michelle Obama's Lavish Spain Vacation Sparking Criticism

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Kim

Hmmm....the truth hurts?? The amount the Obama's spent on one vacation used to be my DH's salary for 4 yrs. However, that has changed in the last 3 years and until DH's salary goes back up that $242,000 is now equal to DH's salary for 6 yrs.

What a waste of money. I can understand security however they are rich and can pay for their own vacations. Perhaps it would not have been as grand but don't we all keep saying that we should only do what we can afford?
I certainly would love to go to Italy. I could take a grand vacation and charge up the credit cards but I simply CANNOT AFFORD it so I don't go. Why should anyone be different? Is she better than me? Or better than any of us?
It's ridiculous that we are tightening our belts every way we can. My DH has a five year pay freeze do you think the price of things will accommodate us by not going up in five years?
If our elected officials are going to be so extravagant they could at least hold a lottery (free of course we've already paid) and take some of us with them.
I don't care if they're Democrats of Republicans the waste and entitlements are killing us all.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Using your figures on running an Air Force presidential plane, of 11,500 per hour times 4 hours, (guess of the time for a round trip to Crawford, Texas), times 77 trips equal $3,542,000 spent just on the plane alone, over the eight years in office. This is assuming one plane, (doubtful, probably at least two flew on each trip), and does not include the costs of the Secret Service, cars, etc. Even if the figures being tossed around are inflated, the current president has a long way to go to catch up with vacationing George.

I think it would be more helpful to us as a country if we figured out a solution to the current problems instead of shifting blame. And I am no George Bush lover not by any means. It's just that he's gone he won't be back what's done can't be undone. On the other hand President Obama has an opportunity to change things to not waste money especially in this time of budget disaster (both on a personal level for many people and for the country as a whole).

The problem with getting anything accomplished is that the country (much like us here on the board at times) points fingers instead of solving problems.
Let's come up with a solution and see if it can be implemented.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

At this point our whole country is a mess, George Bush left us a huge mess and stll the war which should never have started is still going on, while so many innocent lives are lost, and then the cost of the on going war. But like Annadrose said Bush is gone, I believed and still have some hope not much that Obama will bring our troops home however again I am not that hopefully. In the end honestly at this point I truly truly do not trust anyone so much has happened to our country, I feel politcal people who want our votes and trust we lie and tell us anything to get voted in. As for the cost of Obama's family vacation I agree way over the top and that would be for anyone especially like we all know how many people are homeless and without jobs and just to put a meal on the table is struggle very sad indeed. I will remain a Democrat and a Liberal but this has nothing to do with all this mess and problems facing our country. Hopefully for many people 2011 will be better. Peace. catherine

I believe the time of blaming former President Bush has long left the station. It is old and untrue. He did not leave us every single problem we now have. The vacation Michelle took was absolutely ridiculous and I read somewhere the friends that came along with us footing the bill is unheard of in American history. I am happy to tell you I think Obama is worthless as president, but I thought that before he got elected he just keeps proving it over and over again. Do your own research.
I could careless if the president is republican or democratic as long as he does his job and remembers he works for us. I just hope the next President will be able to fix many of problems that this president has caused. I hope he has not done permanent damage.
It is time for this President to stop blaming everyone else.

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Check out my homepage http://julie.mycoupons.com/

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with taking nice vacations or even going to Spain. I do however think it would have shown more class to take a vacation in the states and gone to Spain in two or six years when the taxpayers weren't going to be responsible for so much of the cost. Spain will still be there when he is no longer president.

It didn't bother me that Bush often worked from Crawford. It's been common for Presidents to have what amounts to an off-site office. Who was it that had the Little White House in Key West?

With this situation it was the family of the elected official costing the taxpayers for a luxury trip rather than the official himself getting away to work in a more secluded environment and to host dignitaries in a non-threatening setting.

Let them eat cake!

Julie how can you say its untrue and old, must we forget , I will not fact is fact, ex President Bush entered into a war, where almost 8 years later we are still there, are you forgetting about all the innocent lives that have been lost here and abroad, Obama did not start that war Bush did . If I had a loved one there I would be sick and cannot even imagine that thought. Yes he is not the president anymore, but when he came into office we had a surplus and when he left we were left in huge economical and financial mess. Of course I agree its 100 percent now all in Obama hands to deal with it all, so far some issues I agree but in the long term and honestly whether it was Obama or McCain or Palin or Joe Blow do you really think our country would be in any better shape then it is now please answer. Again I totally agree about his trip waste of alot of money and my true wish for him to make good on the promise of bringing home our troops and then brininging our country back on her feet. Peace. Catherine

The teabagger lemmings are copying and pasting this everywhere they can.

Just google "Air Force 2 only used 47,500" and you'll see what I mean. Nothing added - just copy/paste, copy/paste, copy/paste....

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

I just got it via email without commentary.

The sentiment is accurate whether or not the gallons have been measured correctly.

Just so that she could see Spain, a perfectly nice place but no better than domestic destinations, she racked up a huge bill on the taxpayers dime.

I understand that it costs more to jet people like that around. I get it. And it would be unfortunate for someone to be shackled for four to eight years because they were married to someone who had run for a high office.

But doggone. It cost HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS just for her to experience Spain in the year 2010. To me that is insanely frivolous. I realize we lose sight of the fact that the zeros represent real money - more money than most people will ever have at their disposal - when it's a government expenditure.

But how impressive would it be for somebody to NOT exercise the right they have to jet set at our expense? Very impressive, IMHO.

I agree, I am SO sick of the blaming of Pres. Bush. I too don't care democrat or republican but stop bashing Bush. You wanted this job. Change..please change it back.

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Sometimes the elevator often the shaft

I wonder if people realize how crass they sound when using the word "teabagger".

Do you enjoy being offensive?

You're gonna feel pretty foolish when the tea party gets Obama (and HIS lemmings) out of office

That's a really good question. Probably not...

Whatever happened to Camp David? Do any presidents use it anymore? I never heard of Bush, Obama or Clinton taking advantage of it.

I vaguely remember hearing a couple of times in Clinton's terms.

I wonder, if President Obama was NOT the President would Michelle and the child have been able to go to Spain?

I live roughly 4 hours from Canada---and I can't even afford the passports to get across the border!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I sincerely only hope and pray that all our problems facing our country now can get better next year or hopefully soon. Peace. Catherine

Looks like Bush spent a lot of time at Camp David.

Bush's Year At Camp David - CBS Evening News - CBS News

Looks like Obama goes occasionally, but not as much as other presidents have.

Classy......

In case you didn't catch it, I got this via email.

Obviously, it's a spoof. A joke. Did you think I thought M.O. actually wrote it?

How is this spreading crap around? It's just making light of the fact that they are do as I say, not as I do folks.

And they are. They really are.

They tell people how important it is to do things like garden and cut back on spending to get through these economic times and minimize carbon footprints.

And yet when she drops a cool million or more, in total, so that she can see Spain in the year 2010, nobody is supposed to point out that it's a little hypocritical and self-serving?

If she had that kind of cash to throw around, why stimulate the economy overseas? Why burn that much fuel just so she could see Spain in 2010? Why not wait three years for when BO is no longer in the White House and just take a commercial flight and go first class, even?

I'm not suggesting she sit at home by candlelight to save money. But *they* are the ones always telling *us* how to live, guilting us about fuel use, encouraging us to visit the gulf waters... but when given the opportunity, they don't live that way themselves.

Sorry - they just declared it open season upon themselves!

If I remember correctly, Clinton was being blamed for everything that Bush and cronies could think of, even after Bush was about to leave office. There was no time limit on that, so why should there be one for Bush?

The friends that went to Spain paid their own bills according to what I've heard. The taxpayers did not pick up that tab.

Of course Bush going to Crawford 77 times didn't bother you. That goes without saying. Add to that the 116 trips to Camp David, I wonder when he was ever in DC. That 116 to Camp David was 6 years into office so the figure is possibly low. Assuming he continued going to Camp David at the same rate as his first few years, he would have made 230 trips just for vacation during his tenure. It's mind boggling. No wonder he was such a screw up.

But then you would have to complain about something else.

I'm sure that if we tallied up expenses for any president(and their families), past or present...we'd probably choke on our tongues!

Do you really think her obnoxious posts are funny

I agree her posts are not funny and there is no need for anyone to get nasty, kindly posts your personal views and move on, like I said before at this point truly what we really need as a nation our beloved beautiful country America is to be brought back on her feet and also to bring our troops home. I also agree that all our past president have all spent plenty of money, it would make some of our deceased president very surprised indeed. Peace. Catherine

Not half as crass as the teabaggers themselves. They earned the name.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

No, I just had this vivid picture of a bunch of old hags over their toilets with a toilet brush stirring the crap off them.

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For once Catherine... I agree with you.

Looks like B.O. does use C.D..
Obama to Comment Friday on Jobless Report - ABC News