"Let them eat cake" - How our First Lady will contribute to President Obama's losses in 2010 and 2012

Great article by Austin Hill in today's Town Hall, Barack, Michelle, Champaign Wishes and Caviar Dreams, pointing out the disparity of what our "monarchs" are doing versus what they are saying. The parties, the trips, etc. these things are sticking in the craw of most Americans, especially those out of work. We are ALL paying for their lavish Wednesday night parties and the never-ending stream of vacations.

Michelle Obama's current trip to Spain is the most recent fiasco. As her husband has spent 18 months (plus some campaign time) telling us all to tighten our belts, his wife has used her position as First Lady not to do public service, but to live high on the hog. She exemplifies "do as I say, not as I do," which couldn't be anymore obvious than when she proclaimed that Americans should flock to the Gulf Coast to help their tourist industry then promptly went to the coast of Maine with her family on vacation. HUH?

Two weeks later she's living it up in Spain, with a personal entourage of 40 (also being paid for by us), plus the necessary Secret Service and security forces, in a $3,000/night luxury hotel. Mind you, this is not an official visit. She's not actually DOING anything to represent our country or working! Nope, this is vacation time for her and her daughter. I guest she needs a break after all that vacationing in Maine and her 15 minutes at the Gulf Coast.

There is more than a disconnect going on here. They (her in particular) show a complete disregard for what Americans are dealing with as they jet set off to where they wish to go for whatever reason ... including flying the family dog on it's own private plane. Seriously, can you imagine the outcry if the Bushes had done that? The media complained incessantly about President Bush going to Camp David and his own ranch!

President Obama gleefully blames the Bush Administration for the financial woes of the country (nevermind that it was the Democratic Congress that made the last four years a financial disaster area), but he and Michelle clearly learned nothing from the Bushes as far as grace and consideration of the people of America who pay for their livelihood and their extravagances.

Did you know, for example, that through the four years of Bush 41 and the eight years of Bush 43, every Christmas was spent at Camp David? Do you know why? Camp David has a 24/7 in house staff and security. They all live there year round. By going to Camp David, the Bushes allowed their Washington staff and Secret Service to spend the holidays with their families instead of taking them away to, say, Hawaii. When the Bushes went on vacation, they went to the ranch in Crawford, where they had no staff, did things for themselves, and limited the number of security personal who had to accompany them. Whenever Laura Bush or Hillary Clinton went abroad, it was always for state business, not to lounge around on the beach in Spain, while Secret Service cleared said beach of all the other tourists in Spain for them to do so.

When Mrs. Bush traveled for recreation, she went to national parks ... thereby supporting not only the local economy but also bringing attention to our wonderful park system. She visited with school children and represented our President and our country well. ((nice examples here: Laura Bush urges support for national parks and Laura Bush stays on message)). Because of her love of national parks, Mrs. Bush was asked to be honorary chairwoman of the National Park Foundation. Compare that to President Obama, honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America, shunning the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts and their jamboree where 45,000 boy scouts received a pre-recorded video greeting from the President, who was too busy campaigning for Democratic candidates and appearing on The View to attend their celebration. Lack of consideration of others appears to be an ongoing theme of this Presidency.

These people simply do not get it. They are not royalty. They are servants to the people. President Obama was elected to lead, not so that he and his family could give parties and take expensive vacations on our dime. In normal economic circumstances this would be unacceptable, under the current financial crisis it is inexcusable. And they should both remember that in November and 2012 when voters loudly shout "off with their heads."