ShareThisThe heads of government in London for the G-20 summit are discussing serious and weighty issues, which in time will be duly reported on, but right now the British press is entranced by the sheer size of President Obama's traveling entourage. And no wonder.
Obama arrived with 500 staff in tow, including 200 Secret Service agents, a team of six doctors, the White House chef and kitchen staff with the president's own food and water.
And, according to the Evening Standard, he also came with "35 vehicles in all, four speech writers and 12 teleprompters." For sure, our president is not going to be at a loss for words.
The press duly reported on Air Force One and all its bells and whistles but also on the presence of the presidential helicopter, Marine One, and a fleet of identical decoys to ferry him from Stansted airport to central London.
Among all those vehicles is the presidential limousine, which one local paper mistakenly called Cadillac One, but is universally referred to as the Beast. The limo, reinforced with ceramic and titanium armor, carries tear gas cannon, night vision devices, its own oxygen and is resistant to chemical and radiation attack. It is, marveled one reporter, a sort of mobile panic room. The Guardian called it "the ultimate in heavily armored transport."
The president is entitled to all the security, communications and support he feels necessary to do his job but surely, when we're trying to project a more restrained, humble image to the world, the president's huge retinue could be scaled back to something less than the triumphal march from "Aida."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
America is "arrogant"?
Arrogance correctly describes Barak Hussein Obama, not America or Americans. His sense of entitlement is overwhelming and nauseating. If we do not suffer a devastating terrorist attact in the near future, it will surprising, because he is inviting one and leaving all doors open. He is making America LOOK weak, and he is MAKING America weak by talking about a "nuclear free world". This is all leading toward a "gun free world"---except for governments and criminals, of course. Governments who want complete control of their citizens must first remove all guns from those citizens. Dear God, please help us all.
Barry Soetoro
Many of you out there voted for this deceitful, dangerous character who is not even a U.S. citizen. He'll destroy this country yet.
Barry Soetoro
...you lost any credibility you might have engendered by your tag line Barry Soetero, and of course, your assertion that the NSA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security wouldn't have done a better job in vetting our President's eligibility than John McCain used in vetting Sarah Palin.
madisonhack
Dear Mr Hack:
NO ONE vetted Obama. Not anyone from government, and most certainly not the American media. Had the media done it's job, we wouldn't be stuck with this Chicago street thug in the White House.
As for Palin, she was EXHAUSTIVELY vetted by one of the top D.C. attorneys, Former Reagan adviser, AB. Culvahouse.
He goes into detail here, and explains why Sarah Palin was the superior choice. It's all about national security and foreign policy.
BTW, McCain had about 2 dozen people on his "short list" for Veep.
http://www.cspan.org/Watch/Media/2009/04/17/HP/A/17581/Former+Counsel+to+Pres+Reagan+AB+Culvahouse+on+Advising+Presidents+Presidential+Candidates.aspx
Speaking of foreign policy. This:
Whittington: Sarah Palin Has Offered One Of The Most Sophisticated Analysis Of Obama’s Defense & Foreign Policy Ever Published
http://thespeechatimeforchoosing.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/whittington-sarah-palin-has-offered-one-of-the-most-sophisticated-analyses-of-obamas-defense-foreign-policy-ever-published/
Did you really say the words
Did you really say the words "Palin" and "sophisticated" in the same sentence? I have had farts that were more sophisticated than Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin
You obviously don't have a clue what you're talking about. Just because she is willing to stand up for what she REALLY believes and it isn't what you PRETEND to believe, doesn't make her unsophisticated. Your kind of sophistication is what makes the sham of Obamanism so repulsive to people who want THEIR country back. Go live in France if you want to be a socialist.
farts
Interestingly they came out your ears!
Conspiracy san Theory.
And the Earth is only 6,000 years old, right? The media's job is not to vet anyone. The media is there to entertain retired idiots too old to revive the Klan. Next to Rupert Murdock (extremely not American) the second largest shareholder of News Corp./Fox News is Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. You want an Arab royal to vet American politicians. Mrs. Palin was an anchorwoman for an independent station before ending up as governor of a third-world state. Alaska doesn't even have roads to get around. Palin would do great governing a country of bears. All politicians are narcissists funded by intelligent but [mostly] ultimately evil men. Your fear of black men and total lack of education in everything else is evident in your writing. (Note my lack of references to for-profit opinion-makers... I leave the idiot-idolitry to you.) You should stop before your mother realizes she horribly failed at raising you.
Amen
Amen
you got that right this man is a disgrace to our country and he is out to destroy America why would anyone want to put a man in the white house who hates the country he is in oh i guess they didn't know this i can say they because i knew what he was made of from day one and i didn't vote for him but i would vote to have him impeached 10,000 over if i could
Loyalty
Where is your proof he hates America???
Another one.
"Out to destroy America"... that's a laugh. What America is that? The one your daddy told you about when you were 7 years old never existed. Before "dirty immigrants" referred to Mexicans the phrase referred to YOUR family. You don't even know the meaning of most of the words you typed. "Impeached"? Stop sleeping with your sister long enough to look up that word. Then learn it. You don't have anything valid to say that could be used to impeach ANY president, past or present. You have two reasons why you HATE the president of your nation: 1) you didn't vote for him; and 2) he is black. Of course, number 2 is the reason for number 1. Naturally, you ignore the events of the previous 8 years because the world starts anew with every new president. It's a restart or a do over. Anything that happened before it doesn't count. Yes, that's sarcasm. Smart people use that occassionally. You? Well, you probably just beat your wife and kids to get your point across. BTW: your congressman tells you to protect the wealth but it's not your wealth. It will never be yours. You will never be rich. Your congressman has you by the tea bag - the price of your Internet connection alone will make sure you won't have a decent retirement fund. (Just check your statement for all those fees.)
Another dunderhead lib
You are a typical liberal. So full of $hit.
SO sick of the "R" word
As a conservative Christian, I can say I didn't vote for Obama and it had NOTHING to do with the color of his skin. I am SO SICK of people hauling out the racist word every time a conservative says they don't like the man. Truly? it shows the smallness of your mind and lack of education to back up your arguments for him. Rather than try to point out any good he may have done (little in my opinion), you start throwing sticks and accusing us of being racist. Guess what? Those of you doing the accusing are the racists. I personally was initially very happy at the idea of a black man in the white house, but it didn't take me long to realize the man had no credentials, no history of any political accomplishments and many, MANY questions about his dealings with shady characters. Not to mention, he simply makes my skin crawl to hear him speak. And guess what?! He's NOT black. If you want to get technical he is a MULATTO--he is the offspring of one white and one black parent, therefore he is not black OR white, he's both.
Try to find something racist with this--I am a huge fan of Herman Cain and pray he can win the GOP nomination. Take that stick and chase it.
Totally agree and I DID NOT
Totally agree and I DID NOT vote for him.....he makes us look so bad and he is a horrsible person, how he got elected is beyond me. I think he's a puppet for bohemian and bilderberg though....
Citizenship
Good grief! Do we still have people who believe this crap? I suppose you still believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and Death Panels.
If you help him,you will fail yourself and your country
This congress has been in place since 2007 yes GW was president but Dems were in control.15 months of Barney Frank and look what we got.WALL STREET up our butts, to a tune of ? does anyone really no. We all have time to preach and bitch now it's time to learn about your polititions.Get the people who have learned the system, who know's how to beat it by making their own laws.We have more law breackers in congress,and the house that get away with tax fraud, sexuall harassment,insider trading, spending fraud and throwing us a bone for our communities that get a monument or a new traffic light. and we are soooo greatfull. and they are governed by themselves. And we all know about it. Now let us enjoy a new vision of polition, who cares about us. Exactly the way our for fathers worked for the men and women of the our country. The constitution was written for us by men who had vision. Americans who support the people who work for our country,who pay taxs deserve the same respect, and not one of you should be allowed to reap more than I.What is good for the People is good for the elected People. Think November and please think hard find the best person. Not the best actor. Lets get our country back now. Fight! the gravy days are over this Presidents perception of sharing the wealth sounds great. But there are so few of us left the they are taxing us to poverty,because we let them.remember Spam ham in a can.Imagin when we are all equal and our govt. rations all off us because no one works, unless its for the GOVT. AMERACANS STOP SUPPORTING FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT DON'T SUPPORT YOU. STOP BYING MIDDLE EAST OIL AMERICA TELL YOUR POLITITIONS,WHO BY OIL FOR 120 A BARREL. UNTIL OUR WHEAT AND CORN IS 120 A BUSHEL.WE WON'T SELL. Turn it into fuel we can survive. Help our truckers who are starving we can't get our own products to market.Turn that grain into fuel. in our own coutry.
Obama will ruin America. We
Obama will ruin America. We need to impeach immediately
Obama a cost-cutter
Apparently Obama's trip was a cost-cutting measure. According to same news source, Bush took 700 when he went to Europe!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/nov/19/uk.iraq
That trip was to Buckingham
That trip was to Buckingham Palace at the height of protests over the Iraq war:
"Anti-war protesters were joined by environmentalist critics of the US record on global pollution and consumption patterns, including the former environment minister Michael Meacher, in condemning the visit, not least because renewed fighting has flared up in much of Iraq."
There were real concerns over potential violence, so I think the 2 trips really can't be compared.
He's right
You are right, they are two completely different situations that do not warrant comparison. There were real concerns over security in '03, not like now where our President can walk in public freely without concern for his safety.
Also, you forgot to point out that Bush was a Republican. When Republicans do stuff like this, its for a good reason. Obama, on the other hand, is a Democrat. When Democrats do the same things as Republicans, its usually wasteful, or egocentric.
Try to remember, its only wrong if its done by the OTHER party.
Guardian UK
You do yourself no credit by referring to the Guardian as your source. The Guardian is the Marxist model around which the NYT has built itself in recent years.
The Guardian is an example of PC-run-amok, exemplar of the very attitudes that will destroy "this precious stone set in the silver sea".
The Guardian hated (hates) Bush because he represents everything they embrace. This being said, they must faint with desire for Obama, the purest antithesis of Bush.
What a moron
Dale McFeatters is a moron. He should have done some basic research before reporting on this story. Obama cut down from the over 700 Bush used to travel in his entourage. But I suppose we can't expect stupid right wingers to let facts get in the way. The only thing that matters is to nit pick the President for irrelevant details in the hope that one of them sticks. What a moron.
Bush vs Obama
Stupid right wingers, interesting, what about the idealistic, head in their as*es left wing liberals? You can't tell them anything either. Cost cutting? I don't think so, there is not enough data for that assumption. Staff of 500 but he had 35 vehicles and the presidential helicopter, Marine One, and a fleet of identical decoys to ferry him from Stansted airport to central London (12 teleprompters?). Staff refers to people so there is not enough data in the story from 2003 to say how many vehciles, ships and the likes were with Bush. Liberals assume their beloved leader is in the right again. Bush had just declared war, he had better have protection, Obama is just going around shaking hands and being a 'nice guy'. For the airhead liberals, you can't multiply wealth by dividing it, it's mathematically impossible and only 2% of the US population earns $300K or more so that leaves 6 million people who are going to pick up the tab for 294 million people. I'm not great at math, but this also seems like a mathematics impossibility. Why don't we just declare ourselves communists and make all the liberals happy. Social medicine, share the wealth, dig out your history books if you were in school in the 50s, that was at the basis of the cold war, keeping the communists out. I would rather be poor than be a communist.
Bush vs Obama...
Obama just ENDED the war Bush started and was told by his father the former President "not to get into Iraq" But did he listen to Daddy Bush...NO !
To those of you who insist
To those of you who insist on calling people who don't agree with you about Obama "stupid right-wingers," what's the matter with YOU that you cannot disagree with someone without calling him "stupid?"
Economics
With the economy down the drain and so many without jobs HERE in the US the President was able to spend - yet again - alot of money for show. Hmmmm How long are Americans going to put up with this? When he said change I did not know it was going to be out of OUR pockets!!
WAKE UP AMERICA
GOD HELP US HERE IN THE USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Can we educate the public school graduates?
We are headed toward a dictatorship, today they are talking about doing away with 22nd amendment so Obama can be "president" for life.
One world religion, one world government. History; we had better learn that Hitler was VOTED IN
America is doomed!
Obama is nothing but a fraud and a liar! I am ashamed of my government and embarrassed by them! Make no mistake though I love my country and its people! People not government!