WHOA! Obama Complains Michelle Doesn't Make Money

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Michelle Obama joins list of First Ladies going abroad on taxpayers' dime
BY THOMAS M. DEFRANK AND CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
First Lady Michelle Obama caught hell last year when she flew off to Spain with her daughter Sasha and a handful of close friends for five days of fun in the sun.
Never mind that the Obama entourage paid for their swanky lodgings or that the trip included a goodwill lunch with Spain's King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia.
Critics groused about the estimated $148,000 tab for the First Lady's round-trip flight aboard an Air Force VIP jet and the taxpayer-funded security detail that followed her every step

Foreign trips at taxpayer expense by First Ladies are not a new thing, although they're often cast as official visits.
Jacqueline Kennedy's high-profile trip to India and Pakistan opened all kinds of diplomatic doors for the U.S. and Hillary Rodham Clinton's many trips abroad were a warm-up for her role as President Obama's secretary of state.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy relaxes on a boat ride on Lake Pichola in Udaipur, India on March 17, 1962. (JFK Library and Museum/REUTERS)

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Laura Bush was also a frequent flier who often brought her daughters along for the ride.
Her first foreign foray was a ten-day trip to Paris, Budapest and Prague in 2002 with daughter Jenna, who was then 20.
The White House made sure Laura Bush had at least one "official" event in each city, but she and Jenna spent the bulk of their time at each locale shopping and taking in the sights.
During her husband's second term, Laura Bush also made five goodwill trips to Africa to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria. But on an African trip in 2007, Laura Bush took Jenna and her other daughter, Barbara, on a safari.

First Lady Laura Bush speaks in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, South Africa on July 12, 2005. (Charles Dharapak/AP)
Laura Bush also made an official trip to Burma in support of the pro-Democracy movement and another to the Middle East to promote breast cancer awareness.
The former First Lady's last official foreign trip was to Panama. She brought daughter Barbara with her.


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For 15 years, Laura Bush and four female friends have escaped together for a week every summer. They arrived at Mammoth Lakes on July 8, 2001 and a day later came to Tuolumne Meadows Lodge with an entourage of some 25 people, including Secret Service agents, a White House communications team, various aides and several park officials. The group took up about 15 of the 70 cabins at the site.

July 27, 2003 Laura Bush and all her friends arrived at Lake Crescent Lodge in Washington State for a week long vacation in the Olympic National Forest. "I have a group of friends that I grew up with in Midland, Texas, and we hike every summer at a national park," said Mrs. Bush. Yes, she and her friends arrived on Air Force II with lots of Secret Service Agents.

July 23, 2006 Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska

First Lady Laura Bush arrived in the park by train on July 23rd for a one-week vacation at a private inholder lodge in the Kantishna area. Members of the park staff assisted Secret Service and White House personnel with communications, security and logistics. A small number of rangers from other parks in the region were detailed to Denali to maintain normal operations so that a portion of the parks law enforcement staff could be assigned full-time to augment and assist the Secret Service details. During the week. Mrs. Bush and a small group of friends enjoyed daily hiking excursions throughout the park. On Friday, July 28th, she and her companions traveled to park headquarters to tour the Murie Science and Learning Center, a collaborative venture by Denali, seven other national parks, and several park partners. She later attended a luncheon hosted at the center and greeted park staff and the regional director. [Submitted by Richard Moore, North District Ranger]
This is the second time in the last couple-three months that LaWa has taken advantage of a western national park for a little "getaway with close friends" whose number, names, relationships, and particularly gender is somehow never mentioned.

In June 2008, First Lady Laura Bush visited Mount Desert Island, Maine with a small group of friends for a brief vacation. She did not plan any public appearances before she arrived, but she was out in the public eye during her visit and met with Acadia National Park superintendent Sheridan Steele.

Laura Bush and her daughters, Barbara and Jenna, traveled to Africa in 2007, where they went on safari. Yet her trip was regarded as an "official" visit and included several public events.

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