Obama before and after.

[Docfeelgood]

There is just something about how fast our POTUS ages.

BEFORE
AUG 2008



AFTER
AUG 2011

[Beatie]

hehehe grey hair from worries I think. Also few wrinkles in his head now... live is not that good as president of the USA does it?

Perhaps he is replaced by some other clown

[rah]

Yeah, yesterday he was home in Chicago to celebrate his 50th birthday. At first I thought it was good for him because he said that now that the debt limit issues was resolved (yeah right) he could come home to celebrate with family and friends. Then I heard what actually happened.

He touched down in Chicago at O'hare around 6 in the evening and headed back around 4 hours later. I wonder how much tax payer money was blown for a 4 hours stay in Chicago. Not to mention all the traffic jams from road closures for his ground transportation. But I was willing to cut him some slack since it was his 50th and he had been quite busy. What did he do with those 4 hours you might ask to justify all that tap payer money? He had a fund raiser/birthday party at the Aragon ballroom charging supporters up to almost 40K to attend. Our tax dollars at work. The cost of that trip should have been paid for by his re-election campaign funds.

If this was a one time thing it wouldn't bother me that much but we all know how many times this type of thing will be repeated over the next 15 months.

[OzzyKP]

I remember Bush going gray fairly quickly into his presidency too. The job definitely takes its toll.

[Hauldren Collider]

I think it's more that people become president just at the age where you get gray hair.

[Docfeelgood]

I think it's more that people become president just at the age where you get gray hair.

I don't have grey hair.

[Pax]

Yeah, yesterday he was home in Chicago to celebrate his 50th birthday. At first I thought it was good for him because he said that now that the debt limit issues was resolved (yeah right) he could come home to celebrate with family and friends. Then I heard what actually happened.

He touched down in Chicago at O'hare around 6 in the evening and headed back around 4 hours later. I wonder how much tax payer money was blown for a 4 hours stay in Chicago. Not to mention all the traffic jams from road closures for his ground transportation. But I was willing to cut him some slack since it was his 50th and he had been quite busy. What did he do with those 4 hours you might ask to justify all that tap payer money? He had a fund raiser/birthday party at the Aragon ballroom charging supporters up to almost 40K to attend. Our tax dollars at work. The cost of that trip should have been paid for by his re-election campaign funds.

If this was a one time thing it wouldn't bother me that much but we all know how many times this type of thing will be repeated over the next 15 months.

Almost everything politicians worldwide do is at the expense of taxpayers. He is basically running for reelection every time he opens his mouth more so than any other politician. Simultaneously he is trying to drum up support for his policies. He makes many short trips like that. We also don't know who paid for the trip. It's also a drop in the bucket compared to the real spending/tax/revenue issues so give him a break.

[Darius871]

Nobody else wonders if he progressively dyes it grayer to look more and more like an experienced elder statesman for the next election?

[rah]

Supporting AIR FORCE 1 is not a drop in the bucket and we know who paid for the trip. US TAXPAYERS. He was not drumming up support for his policies. It was a blatant fund raiser. Every politician doing it does not make it right.

[MikeH]

But, as President, there is no way he can attend these things without the massive security presence, and he still needs funds to run.

So how is he supposed to achieve that?

Seems like an unfair criticism, all Presidents of all parties will be in the same boat. (although perhaps not disrupting your commute!)

[rah]

I'm not against the tax payer paying when he's doing a legitimate job related task or a trip home for R&R. That's part of the job. But on this trip he never made it to his residence. It was straight to the fundraiser and then back out of dodge. It was noted as a birthday party which wouldn't have bothered me at all. (his 50th which would justify considerable hoopla) But in reality there were more supporters there than family/friends who were charged up to almost 40K to attend. This is what I have a problem with. If he's going to raise over a million dollars for his campaign fund, he should be footing the travel bills from his campaign fund and not having taxpayers pick up the tab.

[Ben Kenobi]

Hey did people catch the 400 billion "extra debt" that just magically appeared?

Good thing America isn't running on a budget anymore.

[Hauldren Collider]

I think it's totally fine for the president to fly air force one wherever the hell he wants to go. It's a presidential perk. Who cares?

[rah]

So congressmen should be able to travel wherever they want on the taxpayer's dime for vacations disguised as business trips whenever they want because its a perk of being in congress? You have to draw the line between personal and business in every job. The president is no different.

I've seen estimates of anywhere between 60k-180k as the hourly operating cost for transporting the president aboard. This is not chump change. (but I did find it amusing that FOX news reported the highest cost after mentioning that Obama had spent more days out of Washington then any previous president)

[Hauldren Collider]

Congressmen aren't the president and they don't need a massive security entourage wherever they go.

We give the dude a freaking palace. What's wrong with giving him a plane?