Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Too much.

Okay, Sotomayor, "Pro-life" nutjob murders doc in KS, what looks to be a 4 way war over who will be the rabid drooling GOP spokesman-of-doom for the dailykos'ers to rail over, the strange corelation of Clinton supporters and closings of GM dealerships. There's a lot going on out there. What got me this week was....

are you ready?....

The big 0 and his wife going to dinner and a play.

What?, you say.

Well, let's think about this. After the 0 accidentally the whole economy, he's done what?

Flown a pizza maker and his partner by private jet to meet him in a third city to make around 10-15 pies for him and his staff.

Completely freaked out 80% of the city of New York because the pic of Airforce One flying over Mt. Rushmore wasn't to his liking. You know Mt. Rushmore. That's the sculpture that has a bust of the other famous president from IL. (That may have been a sly move to bolster the psychiatric and psychological practices in the city.)

In his defense, he did scrap the proposed replacement to Marine One. That's the presidential helicopter. That'll save a couple of million... I'd hope.

No, this time the President took Airforce One and went to JFK airport so he and his wife could enjoy a nice 4 star dinner and then catch a play.

(No I will not make a crack about the Ford Theater here.)

In case none of you got that, he flew into JFK. One of the busiest airports in the country. Also a major hub for international flights to Europe. So, standard security practice says that they shut down the airspace around the airport during the approach and arrival as well as departure of the big blue bird. Let's say they did it for the minimum I've ever seen. That would be 15 minutes PRIOR to the start of the arrival and would extend to 15 minutes after departure. Let's assume that JFK is like the other top 20 busiest airports and does an arrival every 2 minutes or so with departures in between. Okay, quick math, 30 minutes plus the let's call it 15 for the arrival, plus another 6 for the approach, plus a quick 5 for departure. That's roughly an hour of time that flights can't use the airport. That means just for the time Airforce One is in the area no less than 30 large jets had to be diverted or hold. Plus while the Prez. is on the property no one is allowed outside. Basically the people on the airport are on lock down. So, no planes are getting serviced. Thus no airplanes are departing. Just thinking about the jet fuel burned at 6 bucks a gallon by holding jumbo jets gets pricey. Stay classy 0.

And the fact that JFK is in the densest Class B airspace in the nation with no less than JFK, La Guardia, Tetterboro, Newark, Farmingday and Linden inside the standard 30 mile prohibited zone that goes up around an airport with Airforce One flying into it. That's 6 airports serving international, commercial, cargo, charter, corporate and general aviation that have operations disrupted because the 0 has been working so hard and wants a break. Spending 3 trillion in only 100 days is rough folks. Let me tell you.

Then let's factor in the cost of Airforce One, and the C-5 that goes with it (someone has to carry the bullet proof Suburbans), plus the chartered jet carrying all the press.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg. There were vettings and security sweeps going on for days before the actual trip. Plus, the great pumpkin know what else.

It's no surprise that the White House press secretary doesn't want to say how much the cost of the 0's little jaunt cost... well, us really. It's taxpayer's money after all. I mean, the 0 wouldn't never dream of taking money out of HIS pocket for anything. They're too deep into ours anyway.

And the press secretary's little comment that the 0 would have loved to have taken a commercial shuttle. Well, I'm pretty sure he was told in no uncertain terms that something like that would never happen while he was in office back in January. And, my personal opinion, he probably never even had that thought cross anywhere near his mind.

Again, opinion here, I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of his date didn't run well into the 6 or 7 figures. But hey, that's not even a drop in the bucket of the trillions (that's millions with a 't') he's spending on his supporters, oops I mean, economic stimulus.

Dinner and a play. It's the little things, really.

5 comments:

TXGunGeek said...

Update C5 with C17 for the support troops. Gets even pricier.

Peripatetic Engineer said...

Lets not forget that the highways are closed whilst he is en route. And then there's the cost of the advance team. It just goes on and on.

A Presidential visit must have some substance behind it to be worth all the crap we have to put up with when he arrives. What an Alpha Hotel!

Old NFO said...

Frikkin ridiculous... Even worse that Clinton's haircut at LAX...

phlegmfatale said...

He's a self-indulgent, arrogant schmuck. I can't begin to imagine what he needs to take a break from-- Kobe beef $teaks and wining and dining on the public dime, fiddling while Rome burns?

Unconscionable.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Why not Marine One? D.C. to NYC is about 200 miles. Probably saved time and for sure money.