We can all start the change in Nov - get the vote out to stop this non-sense. What are you doing to get the vote out??????

How typically dishonest. As a click of the mouse would tell you, the dog traveled with a planeload of staffers, media, and dignitaries.

http://mdi.villagesoup.com/news/story/first-family-arrives-on-mount-desert-island/339294

And BTW, Presidents and their families pay for transportation when traveling on personal business.

Really? What do they pay with?
Oh that money that comes from their "other source" income right?
And while on that subject, campaign fundraiser for Hillery Clinton now is a convicted felon who will serve 12 years.
So your story is that obamao was too stupid to figure out that it would be percieved as a waste by having his dog on a seperate flight?
Gee, what would ever give us the impression he is a wasteful leader?
Certainly not the failed stimulus and bail outs.
Wouldnt be the dinner parties and numerous vacations and golf trips right?
Not the $25,000 dollar jungle gym for his kids.
Hey, at least he only spent 20 bucks for DVD's for Prime Minister Brown's gift right?

Good Lord, please edit this word salad for sense.

Word salad? Do you even know what that term means?

I'd say his post qualifies as Exhibit A.

l'etat, c'est moi - Barack 1

Interesting contrast: I happened to be in Florence, Italy, last month and came across the President of the EU, Herman van Rompuy, in the Pitti gallery with his family. He was circulating in a small party led by the curator of the gallery, but there was no security, no press, no staff, no hangers-on. His driver just pulled up in front of the gallery with the Merc and picked them up. You'd never guess that America is supposed to be the place that doesn't like monarchy.

And how does the Prime Minister of Italy travel?

PS, Herman van Rompuv is not the President of the EU,but the President of the European Council, which is a subbody of the EU. His position was not even made official until this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_Council

Maybe you folks would be more understanding of the Obama taking a vacation if he owned a power saw and cut brush.

I would certainly be more understanding if he was passing tax cuts while on vaction and passing bills which promoted job and business growth.
But alas, he can't fill the boots of his predecessor who he constantly complains about having left him with work to do.
Guess he is going to need a vacation while on vacation again huh nutsucker?

Or, maybe, we would be more understanding if he hadn't told us that he "wouldn't rest' about a thousand times in regards to virtually every current event over the last 18 months. Of course, the only time he had to tell us that he wouldn't rest was between tee-times, date nights with the wife, fund-raising for Democratic politicians (who were doomed by his support), slamming Republicans for trying to slow this disaster of an Administration, and vacations with the family.

The more time he spends on the links and other non-productive activities the less time he has to come up with schemes to screw-over the country. If we're lucky, he'll extend his vacation until January 2012 and we the People will send him on a permanent vacation.

Have an Evil day

Hey, I heard he took a nap. Hypocrite!

Or if there weren't a major crises going on while he was golfing.

"It is something that really shows Barack Obama's arrogance and his obviously assumed air of noblesse oblige."

You are misusing this term. "Noblesse oblige" refers to the responsibility of a nobleman to do right by his subjects. This is something Obama absolutely DOES NOT have.

Technically Noblesse Oblige referred to the requirement that someone of nobility help those lesser than they are, and recognize them when they do some act of greatness. Think of it as condescension, but in a noble way. They didn't have to do these things, but their nobility compelled them to, out of honor.

There's a great scene in a great movie, Amazing Grace that demonstrates this. The Duke of Clarence was, by all reports, a waste of space and a total ponce. He was one of the major voices (very powerful) in opposition to Wilberforce and his friends. When Wilberforce finally managed to outlaw slave trade in English territories, this happens in the movie:

Duke of Clarence: Noblesse oblige.
Lord Tarleton: What the bloody hell does that mean?
Duke of Clarence: It means: my nobility obliges me to recognize the virtue of an exceptional commoner

At first glance, I thought his crown was a cardboard one from Burger King....

And he even had to lie about his age and nationality to get that one.

Even a cardboard one is too good for him.

17 Jul 10: (Reuters) - President Barack Obama stepped up criticism of Republicans Saturday for blocking jobless aid, hammering home a Democratic election year attack line that casts the opposition as the party of the rich.

Nobody knows how to be RICH (on the taxpayer's dime) like hussein!

President Bush II's 74 vacation trips to Crawford, and maybe a dozen or so to Kennebunkport were OK with you, right? I wonder how many trips Bush I took to Kennebunkport? How many trips did President Reagan take to his Ranch in the mountains around Santa Barbara? Get real, Teabagger! I can just imagine how many vacation weekends your hero will take to Alaska, with her family in tow, if she gets elected.

YOU ARE A TRUE DEMOCRATE......YOU ARE ALL CRAZY......HE HAS SOLD AMERICA TO WHO EVER IS LINING HIS POCKETS. AS FOR GEORGE AT LEAST HE DID NOT FLY HIS DOG IN HIS OWN PRIVATE PLANE .......OBAMA STINKS. PERIOD......

flagged for threadjacking and sexual innuendo.

Yeah lets compare GW's working vacations where he still conducted business as usual from his ranch or from camp david Vs Obamao going to play golf or having a dinner party or flying his little doggy around on tax payer money while not a damn thing good is being done for this nation.
Like you think your opinion is valid, nutsucker?

Working vacations? You mean clearing brush and riding around the ranch in his pick em up? Has Bush ever been known for hard work?

74 trips to Crawford on the Presidential 747 and every spare weekend at Camp David? Of course, the staff & secret service flew on seperate aircraft to Crawford.

How about Bush I riding around in his speedboat or playing golf at Kennebunkport?

Both Bush's and Clinton flew their doggies around on tax dollars too!

PS, are you taking a break from rounding up stray cattle and fixing fences? No, I think you live in an apartment in a big city in Texas, or maybe in Virginia. Right?

YES, BUSH WORKED HARD ON HIS RANCH AND FOR AMERICA, HE JUST GOT SO DISGUSTED WITH THE DEMOCRATES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HE JUST ABOUT GAVE UP. OBAMA HAS NEVER SEEN OR USED A CHAINSAW OR AX, OR EVEN RODE IN THE TEXAS CADALLIC, A PICKUP, AS I SAID HE STINKS..........

You confused yourself for someone with an opinion that counts, instead of you are a walled eyed slobbering nutsucker with no brain.

You need to stop with the teabagger bullshit. Unless of course you like sucking other men's balls.

No, I leave that for you!

Yet you continuously make posts demonstrating your oral fixation to testicles, nutsucker.

fiza is gay. No shock there.

I'm pretty sure Jack Off/Pete Moss/whatever he's calling himself this week is too. He just enjoys talking about "teabagging" a little too much, IYKWIMAITYD.

Give us a break Fiza,the point is that he used a jet to fly a freaking dog to his vacation spot, hell I can't take my dogs on vacation because I can't afford a freaking vacation. When I could afford to go some where, if I took my dogs it was with me in the family car. Certainly not a jet for a dog and the dogs staff.

And as for President Bush at least he went to the exact same location every time and everything was already set up so no additional money had to be spent on transporting cars and any other special security equipment.

Obummer likes to flitter here and there and every where and tie up traffic and make a security nightmare for any place he decides to vacation at. I tell you what I think that President Bush accomplished more than Obummer on any single vacation.



As far as President Reagan goes he probably had much the same set up as President Bush with everything already set up, just why do you think that they called it the Western White House moron?

God you are such a dumbass...

"the point is that he used a jet to fly a freaking dog to his vacation spot, "

No, the point is that Mr. Huston either lied or was mis-informed when he claimed that "and affording his dog …his dog… his owns special jet airplane." Are you to stupid to understand that the 2nd G-5 was filled with his staff, and not just a dog? Or maybe you are that stupid! Can you not understand that the G-5, in an executive configuration, does not even carry as many passengers as the the commuter airline regional jets? Here is what the USAF version of the G-5 carries: "a basic crew of two pilots, one flight engineer, one communications systems operator, and one flight attendant." There is probably room for, at most, a dozen passengers, in addition to the crew.
Tie up traffic? Of course the Bush II NEVER tied up traffic during his 74 trips to Crawford in the Presidential 747. Bush's frequent weekend trips to Camp David in multiple Marine helicopters with his staff was OK with you, right?

"just why do you think that they called it the Western White House moron?"

Because Reagan spent so much time there clearing brush and riding his horses! Got that, lady!

PS, gfchicago, you should "PRAISE" Obama for traveling "economy" in small jets.

threadjack

Tell you what, since you just compared Reagan and GW to obamao in respect to their vacations. Let us know when you find out that obamao is actually doing any work while on vacation, nutsucker.

Sure, you call 486 vacation days and 74 trips to Crawford in 8 yrs working vacations? It sure was a lot of work for the staff and the secret service planning and facilitating all those trips.
Why do you think The Bush I & II vacations were all work and Obama's vacations all play? Do you have some "inside" information?

Inside? Yeah like world news of President Bush meeting with foreign heads of state such as Putin at his ranch in crawford, meeting with his joint chiefs of staff, Bush meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Bush passing/veto'ing bills from the ranch.
Bush was still running the nation while at his ranch and "on vacation."

You re the one that is fucking stupid. The point is that Obuummer didn't need to use two small plains at all. One for a freaking dog and the dogs staff, please... So Once again Obummer will get no praise from me.

Here are the "facts", little girl:

"President Obama flew into Bar Harbor Airport with First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha on a smaller Gulf Stream jet, instead of a larger Air Force 1. A group of staffers, and Bo, the Obama dog, arrived on a second Gulf Stream."

The quote is from here:

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/17/obama-f...

Yes, he could have used that BIG Presidential 747, and the Presidential helicopters, like Bush I & II did in their frequent "working vacations" to Kennebunkport.

Ahh but Fiza neither the Bush's nor Reagan were trying to tell the world to reduce their carbon footprint while jetting off to Copenhagen, buzzing NYC with a 747, or flying to NYC for a date night.

Odrama's a hypocrite and you're brainwashed sycophantic ass licker, playing at being an expert on from everything from climate science to the safe flight/landing of commercial scale jet aircraft.

Hows that babysitting job panning out for you little guy? Family willing to keep you around as long as you get off your lazy ass and help out?

God you are such a dumbass... said the Teabagger.

What's your point, nutsucker?

Nice.

What happened to "not resting" until the economy was fixed? What happened to "not resting" until every American who wants job, has a job? What happened to "not resting" until the oil disaster is cleaned up? More broken promises from the One (PBUH).

We should be grateful he spends more time on the links and playing with his kids than he does on Presidential duties since it gives him that much less time to screw-over the country.

Have an Evil day

Still awaiting your reply to my comment, Mr. Huston. And when are you going to retract this phoney claim? "... and affording his dog …his dog… his owns special jet airplane." How about explaining that the family "doggie" shared the 2nd C-37 with Obama's staff. And isin't it better to travel in a motorcade from Bar Harbor A/P than to fly in Presidential helos from Pease AFB in New Hampshire to the Bush compound in Kennebunkport. How do you think the Marines got the three, or so, helos from Quantico to Pease, Mr. Huston? I bet you "bitched" about Bush's 74 trips to Craford in that big 747, didn't you, Mr. Huston! How about this:

"Annually, most Americans are lucky to enjoy two or three weeks of vacation—four weeks if they're exceptionally lucky. President George W. Bush, however, has a slightly more lenient employer. As of mid-August, President Bush has traveled to his Crawford, Texas, ranch 74 times, according to CBS Radio correspondent Mark Knoller, who has unofficially tracked presidential vacations since 1992. His stays have totaled 466 days (and counting), including a five-week vacation in 2005, the longest presidential holiday in nearly four decades"

First of all ya slobbering nutsucker, It was not Houston's claim, he quoted a news article that detailed the event.

Actually, he left out the part of the article that said at least one staffer was on the plane.

Second, he wasn't quoting from the article at all when he claimed the Obamas were "flying their little doggie, Bo, on his own special jet airplane" and "affording his dog …his dog… his owns [sic] special jet airplane." A claim which he knew from his own link to be false.

Oh, and his claim that it was all "on OUR dime" is also false. Presidents pay for their own transportation when traveling on personal business.

Honestly I could care less how many plans it took to get his dog down there.
The only thing I am concerned with is the fact this is yet another example of obamao's abuse of power and taking advantage of his office as a public servant.

Really? In exactly what way was this an abuse of power or taking advantage of his office? Especially as compared with other Presidents.

Be specific.

He should have checked the news article. Is Mr. Huston so stupid, or are you so stupid to believe that the 2nd G-5 aircraft was for a dog?

Fiza, the point of this post is that Obama talks the talk, but never walks the walk. Getting down to minutiae like keeping your tires inflated properly, while he jets around on vacation in not one, but two frickin' Gulfstreams.

And since we're getting into nitpicking semantics, Fiza, how many staffers were on the second jet? Why not put everyone on ONE jet, and cut the costs in half?

What kind of jet would you suggest, Mr. Aviator, the Presidential B-747 like the Bush's used to fly to Kennebunkport? I guess you know that the runway length is 5200 ft at Bar Harbor airport. What is your estimate of the required runway length for the Presidential B-747. Sure, put everyone on a B-747, fly to the closest airport that can handlea heavy jet (Bangor) - and use the big Presidential helicopters for the final leg.

"Baa baa baa," is that all you got to say nutsucker?
What a mindless sheep you are.

Fiza, you spin more straw than Rumpelstiltskin! I never said anything about a 747. Actually, I suggested the exact opposite...why not take one jet instead of two.

And you're still missing the point. The post was meant to point out how utterly tone-deaf Obama is when it comes to what he says and what he does. He constantly attacks the rich of this country, all the while living a lifestyle that would rival any of them. The difference being that he's living it on our dime. During a pretty nasty economic crisis. One that the left says is the worst economy since the Great Depression whenever they're trying to slam President Bush and carry water for Obama.

Don't make me have to draw a damn picture for you.

Let me know when you need some crayons.
And try not to draw anything with more demension and depth than a stick figure.
The complexity of anything more would make fizzle's poor feeble brain melt through his nose.

Yeah, get me those big fat ones with the flat bottoms. I think those are beginner's crayons, right?

"Fiza, how many staffers were on the second jet? Why not put everyone on ONE jet, and cut the costs in half? "

Apparently you don't know anything about aviation. Two G-5's burn maybe 20% of the fuel that a B-747 does. The closest A/P to Bar Harbor or Kennebunkport capable of handling a B-747 is in New Hamphhire. The Bush's traveled from New Hampshire in one of three Marine helos (at least two are decoys), which were flown up from their base in Quantico. Even an avation illiterate like you should be able to understand that it is cheaper to travel in two business jets nearly direct to the final destination than it is to fly in a B-747 (which flies with two three man crews) and in several helos to the final destination.
Get it hawk? And I am NOT nitpicking! Mr. Huston, along with many other conservative websites, totally distorted the "facts". I bet FOX News does likewise tonight.

If you can't tell the difference between the president flying with extra security and the president flying his doggy... I think you're beyond help.

So you also believe Mr. Huston's stupid claim that "King Barack and Queen Michelle are flying their little doggie, Bo, on his own special jet airplane for his own little vacation adventure."
I see that Mr. Huston has not yet replied to retract his stupid claim.

Did he or did he not fly his dog on a separate jet from his family?

Not even a very good strawman. The claim wasn't that the dog was on a separate plane, but that he had "his own special jet airplane."

So you're saying "yes" then? Thanks.

So you're saying this has nothing to do with what was claimed? Thanks.

Obviously fizzle is too clever and wise,
to be fooled by what can be viewed with his own lying eyes.

Ready to answer questions about McCarthy yet, Fiza?

I gave you plenty of links, in particular, links to the Army McCarthy hearings and the actual transcripts? Lets, see, wasn't McCarthy censured? How many spies did McCarthy actually expose? Remember his claim that he could name 130 communist spies in the defense industry? How many did he name when challenged?
Here are some details on your hero, Senator McCarthy:

"Joseph McCarthy, burst into national prominence when, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he held up a piece of paper that he claimed was a list of 205 known communists currently working in the State Department. McCarthy never produced documentation for a single one of his charges, but for the next four years he exploited an issue that he realized had touched a nerve in the American public.
He and his aides, Roy Cohn and David Schine, made wild accusations, browbeat witnesses, destroyed reputations and threw mud at men like George Marshall, Adlai Stevenson, and others whom McCarthy charged were part of an effete "eastern establishment." For several years, McCarthy terrorized American public life, and even Dwight Eisenhower, who detested McCarthy, was afraid to stand up to him. Finally, however, the senator from Wisconsin over-reached himself.
In January 1954, in what were to be the first televised hearings in American history, McCarthy obliquely attacked President Eisenhower and directly assaulted Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens. Day after day the public watched McCarthy in action -- bullying, harassing, never producing any hard evidence, and his support among people who thought he was "right" on communism began to evaporate. Americans regained their senses, and the Red Scare finally began to wane. By the end of the year, the Senate decided that its own honor could no longer put up with McCarthy's abuse of his legislative powers, and it censured him in December by a vote of 65 to 22."

The above quotes are from here:

http://eca.state.gov/education/engteaching/pubs/AmLnC/br60.htm

We have already seen you demonstrate what going to links does for you.
Your level of reading comprehension is at its worst when you think you have proven something.

OK, first the outright lies. McCarthy exposed numerouis spies and communist agents working in the government, as conclusively proven through the Venona project. In his Wheeling WV speech, he claimed to have the names of 57, not 205 security risks.

I am still waiting on you to tell me what McCarthy was investigating during the Army-McCarthy heartings and what was the context of the infamous "Have you no decency..." distribe.

And for extra points, please provide me the names of the people Mccarthy destroyed. Any at all, Fiza.

That may be too much for him. Consider his link source is the State Departments English Language Programs site.

Look at my fricking picture on this site and tell me again I "don't know anything about aviation".

And yes, "two G-5's burn maybe 20% of the fuel that a B-747 does." But ONE G-5 burns about 50% of the fuel that TWO G-5's burn.

Thanks for the clarification that 2 G-5's burn twice the fuel of one. Tell us what burns more fuel, two G-5's or the Presidental B-747 + helos or a 50 mile motorcade from Bangor to Bar Harbor? I gave you my estimate, but you being an airline pilot can tell us right off the top of your hat. Tell us also what kind of heavy jet is capable of using Bar Harbor A/P.

Glad you could find justification for him to fly his dog around in its own jet... and not ride with the POTUS.

Sort of scary to think you might have a job that gives you access to drugs.

Don't try to distract Fiza with simple math. It hurts his brain terribly.

1 + 1 = fizzle having a stroke.

Lets plug the BP oil leak with michelle obama hussiens FAT ASS!

Thanks again for leaving out a few "details", Mr. Huston.

Here are the "details" that you conveniently left out:

"President Obama flew into Bar Harbor Airport with First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha on a smaller Gulf Stream jet, instead of a larger Air Force 1. A group of staffers, and Bo, the Obama dog, arrived on a second Gulf Stream."

The quote is from here:

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/17/obama-f...

Get that, Mr. Huston? Two G 5's (or the C-37 version, I guess), versus the big B-747! Maybe you don't know what a G-5 is, and how it compares to a B-747 in fuel consumption and operating costs per hr. About 2k - 3k lbs/hr for a G-5, vs 20k - 30k lbs/hr for a B-747. How about that, Mr. Huston - a typical G-5 burns only about 10% of the fuel that a B-747 does.

What you should be saying is KUDOS to Obama for flying "ECONOMY".

How about them apples, Mr. Huston!

Finally, how about those frequent trips to Kennebunkport by the Bush's? Didn't Bush I travel to Maine almost every free weekend? Did the Bush's go "economy" like Obama? According to the communist liberal publication, Av Week, Bush I's frequent trips to maine (actually to an A/P in NH), air traffic in the north east corridor was "screwed up" for hours. I don't have a link, but I recall reading that "fact" yrs ago in AV WK.

Mr. Huston, a comment on your distorted story would be appreciated.

The US Government has a fleet of planes that range in size from Cessna 172's to C-17's. To claim that the only choice besides 2 G5s was the Presidential 747 is the height of ignorance, and misses the point entirely.

In addition, how do you think the Presidential motorcade vehicles arrived? Hint: They didn't rent them from the local Avis. There was at least one C-17 or perhaps several C-130s (large military transport planes) that made the trip to Maine. Do you think the staffers and dog could have arrived in one of those?

As for Crawford, it was Bush's home. And quite an environmentally friendly place at that.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

See what I did there? Posted a link to a site that has a reputation for reporting facts.

How many times is a President allowed to go home? 72 times in eight years (assuming your number is correct, and that is a big leap considering how unreliable your previous statements have been) is right at nine times a year, or once every 5 and a half weeks. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me to allow an employee to visit home less than once a month.

As for "correcting" the story, there is no correction needed. Keep yammering away at unrelated details to build your giant strawmen, the grownups aren't listening anymore.

"The US Government has a fleet of planes that range in size from Cessna 172's to C-17's. To claim that the only choice besides 2 G5s was the Presidential 747 is the height of ignorance, and misses the point entirely."

Yes, I forgot abot the C-17's. Th A/F probably has modules (like for the C-141's and C-5's) for turning the C-17 into an "executive" aircraft for high rank military officers and government officials. The C-17 also has short field, STOL like capabilities for use in combat situations.

Tell me, when did any president fly in any other aircraft beside the normal Presidential aircraft of that era, or a Presidential helo. Yes, I know that any aircraft the president flies in is designated A/F1. Did the Bush's ever fly in a smaller aircraft to get to Kennebunkport? No, they flew into New Hamphire in the B-747 and helicoptored in to Kennebunkport. Where do you think the helos were ferried in from, genius? Quantico, Virginia! Now you are talking about a real waiste of taxpayers dollars.

Normally ignoring a two year old is best, but sometimes they have to be set straight. You got straw everywhere, Fiza. Do yourself a favor and stop digging.
#1 - "Tell me, when did any president fly in any other aircraft beside the normal Presidential aircraft of that era, or a Presidential helo"

Tell be big boy, where did I ever suggest that the president fly in anything other than air force one? I'll make it easy for you, I didn't.

Don't change the subject - which was why was there a special Gulfstream for the dog and staff when there were other planes making the trip? Most military transports don't need special VIP modules to transport people, unless the passengers require their caviar to be properly chilled. These guys don't:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dO_8ltSRK0U/SwybahmHynI/AAAAAAAAAQI/bjnz9ynMhS0/s800/091124-inside-a-can-of-whoop-ass1.jpg

I don't think anybody on the president's staff, much less his dog, have done more for the country than the passengers on the transport in the picture linked.

Nevermind that the dog and staff could have flown *gasp* commercial! The point is, with millions in the Gulf coast on the verge of bankruptcy this president saw no problem with the image of his dog arriving to the family vacation by G5, escorted or not.

So, in conclusion, you are waaay out of your depth here, stop before you hurt yourself.

"Most military transports don't need special VIP modules to transport people, unless the passengers require their caviar to be properly chilled. "

Tell that to the DOD, which has purchased VIP modules for decades to transport senior civilian and military brass in style and comfort.

How about this"

"Operational Support Airlift, the Pentagon's VIP air fleet, is far larger than any conceivable wartime need requires. That leads to frequent abuse of the approximately 500-craft fleet, which costs $378 million per year to maintain. The most famous example is Air Force Gen. Joseph Ashy's 1994 flight, with an aide and a pet cat, on a military transport from Italy to Colorado, at a cost of $120,000. The trip would have cost no more than $5,300 on a commercial carrier. Also popular are helicopter rides from Andrews Air Force Base to the Pentagon (a 20- to 30-minute cab ride) at a cost of $400 to $1,600 per flight."

The qoute, from the link below, is from the unreliable, liberal, communist CATO Institute.

Joseph Ashy's C-141 was fitted with an EXECUTIVE MODULE, in addition to the "economy" seats in the rear.

https://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb105-8.html


Why are you so anti-Obama when the Bush's made MANY trips to Kennebunkport in the Presidential B-747, which required Presidential helicopters flown up from Quantico, VA for the final leg from New Hampshire to Kennebunkport. I guess that was OK with you, huh?

Straw, straw straw. I'm immune to the "baffle them with bullshit" tactic you are so fond of.

Please, stay on topic.

The subject is how Obama has the audacity to transport the family dog by G5 when millions of Americans are out of work, and our children are being saddled with trillions in debt of an order of magnitude unseen in this country. It shows how little the president cares for what the "little" people think. Obama obviously doesn't care about the children.

Bush enjoyed 5% unemployment, and falling deficits. Nobody cared then because we could afford it. Whether or not we really could have afforded it then, we definitely can't afford it now. Just like living with credit card debt, I can't return that disney vacation three years ago that I'm still paying off, but I can stop charging new ones now.

The subject is now. And this President has no concept of how America is suffering, or how tone deaf a 2nd g5 for the dog looks. If I want to go on vacation but the dog won't fit in the car, the dog stays home. Apparently this never occurred to the Obamas, or their handlers. Instead we get thousands of column inches debating just how snobbish and entitled the president thinks he is, with slavish defenders such as yourself slobbering over yourself to defend the indefensible.

So far the best you can come up with is "Bush did it too." Pathetic.

Snopes and factcheck.org are about as reliable as wiki... ok less than.

I have found Snopes to be pretty reliable and as non-partisan, as a whole, as it gets on the web. It is not in depth research.

Wiki is a cesspool of partisan mudslingers trying desperately to get the last word in re-writing history.

Or, were you just being snarky and contrarian?

Snopes is a website owned and operated by a husband and wife.
Take what is there with a grain of salt that they do their own research and have the same resources to do so any person with internet access has.

Thanks. Snark it was.

"Snopes is a website owned and operated by a husband and wife."

As opposed to a husband and husband, or two wives or anybody else on the planet? Everything is owned by somebody, or something. Are you prejudiced against married couples? Or, just these two? Yes I suppose anybody with a computer could have compiled a summary with footnotes as they did, but that would have taken a while and, quite frankly, Fiza wasn't worth investing that much time in.

In this case, I used Snopes to support the fact that Bush's Crawford ranch was an environmentally responsible house, a detail you did not refute in your assessment of Snopes.

Snopes relied on, and cited as sources, the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the Austin Statesman, and the St. Petersburg Times.

The comparison was to Wiki, however, and I stand by my assessment of that sandbox. Fit for cats or two year-olds, the end result is the same.

Thanks for the info. I still think it was an attempt at snark. And not bad at that. I chuckled.

About that "communist liberal publication, Av Week". When I was flying in the Air Force twenty years ago, we referred to it as Aviation LEAK. They are without a doubt an agenda driven magazine and have been for decades. And not averse to undermining our national security to sell a story.

Figures that Mr. "You Ought To Eliminate Your Carbon Footprint "Cause I Say So And I Got Elected" would get caught doing something like this. The arrogance and effrontery is almost palpable, isn't it? I wonder how Ms. "Let Them Eat Arugula" is enjoying the stony beaches of Mt. Desert Island. At least they're far from the oily sandy beaches she recommended for the rest of us. It's a good thing for the two of them that the guillotine has gone out of fashion.

Interesting side note - the airport at Bar Harbour is way much larger than one would expect for such a small town. Until one drives down Bar Harbour Road from Ellsworth past the airport during the summertime and sees all the corporate jets parked on the tarmac. That's when you realise that all the CEO's and other rich VIP's needed to make sure that their 737's could be handled at the local airport.

I used to fly out of there on the twin-turboprop Beech 19's (every seat's a window seat, every seat's an aisle seat) operated by Colgan Air under the US Airways marque. On the early morning flights, the pilot would taxi noisily the long way around the runway to scare off any deer or moose in the vicinity so they didn't intrude onto the runway. Quaint.

See my comment above. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Bar Harbor A/P can take a B-747. Isn't it a lot cheaper to fly President Obama and his contingent into Bar Harbor than into New Hampshire and helicoptor into Kennebunkport, like the Bush's did in their frequent trips to Maine? How much more does it cost to fly several Presidential helo's AND a 747 into New Hampshire vs two G-5's?

No, Hale, the Bush's were the "arrogant" ones.

Said the nutsucker who is defending a moron in chief taking his 7th vacation this year, after playing over 200 rounds of golf, who never does any work on his vacation to help run the country.

Actually, he's played 41 rounds of golf, not 200. Of course he doesn't fish, mountain bike, or clear brush so maybe we should just be counting leisure activities in general.

But since you're counting, let's compare:

~~~~According to a tally kept by Mark Knoller, a CBS News reporter long recognized by the White House as authoritative on such matters, Obama has spent all or part of 65 days on vacation, including days at Camp David. At this point in his tenure, George W. Bush had spent 120 days. That included 13 trips to his Texas ranch.~~~~

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/ap_on_go_pr...

Aside from the fact that a weekend off is hardly a "vacation," the term itself misleading, as all you GWB defenders are quick to point out. The President is never on vacation...elsewise he would not need to travel with staff and communication equipment.

For example, from that same AP article:

~~Their Memorial Day weekend in Chicago was overtaken by the Gulf oil spill. After the Obamas slept at their Chicago home for the first time in a year, the president got up and left for a daylong Gulf inspection tour.~~

PS, sorry for hitting the "like" button when I meant to hit the "reply" button.

Obama working on vacation that is a laugh.
"inspecting" the gulf? Where did that get us? Oh yeah "I don't have a straw to suck it with"

He doesn't work when he is at work unless its to push a policy to designed to destroy this nation or to throw a scrap of hope by allowing a Bush policy to continue.

"Obama working on vacation that is a laugh."

I guess you consider Bush I riding around in his speedboat, fishing & playing golf at Kennebunkport, or Bush II clearing brush & riding his bike around the ranch in Crawford a "working vacation". Bush II took 74 vacations to Crawford, maybe 12 trips to Kennebunkport, and spent almost every weekend not on vacation or business at Camp David. EMT, the guy who always keeps his shotguns/ rifles loaded when in his vehicle, has got to be the dumbest blogger here. Don't you have ANY common sense at all?

You keep saying "common sense". That phrase does not mean what you think it means, Fiza.

Now, about McCarthy...

McCarthy? Apparently you can't or won't read! I am not going to repeat references to McCarthy. Go ahead and believe the "resurrection" of McCarthy by Coulter and the rest of your kind on the conservative blogsphere.

You have not told me anything except for abject lies and taking one quote COMPLETELY out of context.

I will accept your apology from you and your admission that you are nothing but a brain-dead McCarthy hater, uninterested in the facts!

Oh yeah, that is one thoughtful analysis there.

Yup, EMT is real "thoughtful"! He swallowed Huston's bogus story here, "hook, line, and sinker".

I'm more than happy to correct you since you are wrong about 747's and Bar Harbour airport.

Since a 747 can take off with ~4,000 ft of roll if lightly loaded, and given that Hancock County-Bar Harbour Airport's longest runway is 5,200 ft, I'd wager you're flat out wrong about that. Let me ask though, how many times have you flown in or out of Bar Harbour? I've been in and out of there perhaps 25 times. I lived about 5 miles from the airport on Rte 1A just outside of Hancock, so that was my 'home' airport for about 18 months. And I've seen at least one corporate 747 parked on the tarmac there. I really looked out of place at such a small airport, but it was there. Last piece of information for you - go to their website today and you'll see that they have temporary flight restrictions for a VIP posted.

Once again, your zeal for making a snarky comment has led to your making false statements, whether out of malice or ignorance.

It's very typical of you to haggle over relatively irrelevant details while ignoring the simple fact that regardless of the equipment used, it's pretty damn hard to justify having a plane which is allocated for a dog.

"Since a 747 can take off with ~4,000 ft of roll if lightly loaded ..."

Are you really an airline pilot? ~4,000 ft of roll if lightly loaded! For safe operations? If you are really a pilot, tell us what the recommended runway requirements are for a B-747 (you pick the model). Is there any airline in the world that operates 747's at an A/P with a 5200 ft runway? Sure, the Presidential 747 could take off or land on a short runway in an emergency, but nobody in their right mind would recommend that as a standard practice.

"if lightly loaded " What! I don't think the Presidential 747 ever takes off lightly loaded, even for one hr flights. I believe that the Presidential 747 has in flight refueling capabilities for emergencies. Is that what you recommend?

Irrelevant details? Did you miss my link? The 2nd G-5 was NOT allocated for a dog! Are you really that stupid? Go here for the irrelevant details:

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/17/obama-f...

In case you don't go to the link, here are the irrelevant details:

"President Obama flew into Bar Harbor Airport with First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha on a smaller Gulf Stream jet, instead of a larger Air Force 1. A group of staffers, and Bo, the Obama dog, arrived on a second Gulf Stream."

Does Mr. Huston and do you actually believe that the 2nd G-5 was dedicated for the dog? This totally bogus claim is now all over the conservative blogsphere. Have these people no shame? do they hate Obama that much?

If you are really n airline pilot, you should be commending Obama for opting to fly intoBar harbor on a business jet, versus flying into a another airport on the Presidential 747.

Three items, Fiza:

1. I don't know why you're coming after me about 747's in the first place. If you go back to my original comment, you'll see that I never mentioned the craft. It was your mention of it in your first reply which introduced the subject to the discussion.

2. You'll note that I carefully mentioned a lightly loaded 747, not a fully loaded commercial plane. You'll also note that I didn't say that ~4,000ft roll was a desirable circumstance, just a feasible one. Big difference there mate.

3. For the year and a half that I lived in Hancock, I drove past the Bar Harbour airport at least twice a day. I've seen an actually "flesh and blood" 747 parked on the tarmac at that specific airport. It looked oddly out of place - such a large craft looming so large and towering over the the other planes huddled around it. But it was there. Hard to argue with actual visual evidence that on at least one occasion, a 747 has used that airport to arrive and depart in safety.

From my experience in the KC-10 tanker during my AF days, I can attest to the kind of performance these heavy jets are capable of.

About 20 years ago, we took off from Lincoln Muni in Nebraska in a KC-10 with 60,000 lbs. of fuel and 60 passengers. We rotated in less than 2,000 feet, leveled at 100 feet while retracting the gear, flaps and slats. When we reached the end of the runway, we pulled into a 60-70 degree climb angle all the way to 10,000 feet. The tower guys were dumbfounded. They radioed that they had no idea we could do that. It was a profile we flew regularly for airshows.

I also am pretty sure if it was a corporate

Thanks for the "enlightenment" on the capabilities of the KC-10. How much runway did you have in front of you when you rotated? 10k ft, or were you assigned the short runway? Tell me then, would you recommend to the president's trip planners that he fly into Bar Harbor A/P on the Presidential 747? I don't think so! Otherwise, you are an idiot!
Would your airline, or any airline for that matter, that is, if you are not BSing us here, operate a 747 out of an airport with a 5200 ft runway?
Again, I am sure the crew practices short takeoff and landings for emergencies, but with plenty of runway on front of them. Or maybe the crew does practice landings and takeoffs at Bar Harbor A/P, or maybe at Quantico Marine Corps Airfield on the 4200 ft runway. Just perfect too, for a KC-10 demo, right? Plenty of runway to abort your demo!

Hawk, you are too much! Are you really an airline pilot?

Yes Fiza, I am an airline pilot. And you are a master strawman builder.

First of all, you need to stop with the idea that I ever suggested flying a 747 into Bar Harbor. The only comment I made was why Obama didn't take one airplane instead of two. I also never said that my airline would fly into Bar Harbor. And of course we're not going to do a KC-10 demo out of a short runway. The point of that post was to show that these heavy jets are capable of performing in ways that would surprise a lot of people. It is an awesome sight to see a big, hunkering jet flying high performance maneuvers. And all of these maneuvers are flown well within the performance envelope of each type. Our maneuvers were planned with the assistance of McDonnell-Douglas technical reps and validated in our flight simulators.

Now, commercial flights are constrained by FAR's. For the majors, it's Part 121. For most corporate operations, it's Part 135. On top of those regulations are company mandated restrictions. Now the rest, such as privately owned corporate owners, fly under Part 91, because they aren't flying for hire. There are a lot fewer restrictions. The main restriction is the actual performance limitations of the aircraft. Under Part 91, if you want to land on a runway that is right at the edge of the capabilities of your airplane, then you can do so. An airline wouldn't do that because they're simply not allowed to. And they're not allowed to because there is no operational requirement for them to do so. They want a buffer for extra safety. I don't doubt Martin saying he's seen a 747 on the ramp at Bar Harbor, as there have been many documented 747 landings on runways as short as 4,900 feet.

As far as me being too much, that's what all the women say!

"1. I don't know why you're coming after me about 747's in the first place."

The Bush's used the Presidential B-747 for their frequent vacations. I don't recall either Bush flying in a smaller A/C for short trips. What is your problem with Obama using two G-5's for hisfamily and staff.

"2. You'll note that I carefully mentioned a lightly loaded 747, not a fully loaded commercial plane. You'll also note that I didn't say that ~4,000ft roll was a desirable circumstance, just a feasible one. Big difference there mate."

Feasable? Maybe so, but only an IDIOT would even suggest flying the Presidential B-747 into Bar Harbor A/P. I am sure that the Presidential 747 crew practices short take-off roll and landings frequently, but NOT on a 5200 ft. runway.
Lightly loaded? You mean with minimum fuel? The Presidential 747 doesn't fly in that condition!
Check the B-747 specs for any model and weight on Boeing's website for recommended runway minimums, which you will see are 6500 ft for the LIGHTEST models. The recommended runway minimums are based on safety considerations. You can find the specs here:

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/747.htm

"3. ... I've seen an actually "flesh and blood" 747 parked on the tarmac ..."

If you aren't BSing us here, these B-747 's must have been flown in with crew only at near minimum fuel.
You can probably find a video of a B-747 taking off in 3500 ft or so in a demonstration, but 5200 ft is not enough for safe operation.

Says the expert on everything, brainwashed idiot, who is now an expert on flying 747's and believes every word of this admin, no matter what!!!

No, not an expert, just COMMON SENSE!

More "everybody knows" excuse. What a surprise.

Ready to talk about McCarthy yet, Fiza?

Isn't it actually a matter of believing what the news reports say? After all, Huston supposedly bases his post on a newspaper article. Even if he does misuse it.

Don't worry Barry, the peasants have plenty of cake to eat. Don't worry about a thing.