Conservatives Begrudge Michelle Obama A Vacation

If the First Lady stayed a Holiday Inn in Bayonne, would that be okay? I doubt it. A trip to Spain clearly isn’t, given the flack the White House is getting because of Michelle Obama’s trip to Spain.

Yet the bigger public furor concerns the cost and appearance of the trip. In a scathing editorial published Thursday, New York Daily News writer Andrea Tantaros trashed Michelle Obama as a “modern day Marie Antoinette” for taking such a glitzy vacation while most of the country is struggling to make ends meet.The Obama entourage is staying at the luxury Hotel Villa Padierna, a Ritz-Carlton property often described as one of the world’s top 10 hotels. Rates range between $500 and $2,500 a night. It’s not clear that the Obama delegation picked this hotel specifically, or if the Secret Service — which often gets final say over where a protectee stays — made the accommodations call.

Personal expenses are being paid by the Obamas and by friends traveling with them, but there are always related taxpayer-paid costs when a First Family travels. Of course with the Obamas, everything is worse, because of the glare of attention they generate from all who despise them.

Michelle Obama is hardly the only first lady to travel overseas without her husband. 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. According to the White House, this trip is entirely private, save for a photo-op with the Spanish royal family, who has invited the first lady and her daughter for an official visit.

See? They could have called it an “official” visit and all would be fine.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.