How Obama is saving the DNC money on his fundraising trips --- at your expense

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

During President Obama's West Coast fundraising swing this week, he'll squeeze in an official speech about job training at a community college between multimillion-dollar fundraisers in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to benefit House and Senate Democrats' re-elections this fall.

 

But that's not just because he's a multi-tasker. It will also cut down the cost of the trip.

 

Over the last few weeks Obama has made a practice of sprinkling in a few public-policy speeches on trips devoted mostly to fundraising, even as he's faced new foreign policy crises in Ukraine and Gaza.

 

His top spokesman says he’s not letting the money chase distract him from his commander-in-chief responsibilities and would not hesitate to make changes to his schedule if duty calls.

“When the president travels, he travels with an array of staff and advisers and communications equipment that allows him to do his job from wherever he happens to be,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. “And if it becomes clear that there's a need for him to come back to the White House in order to fulfill those functions, then we'll make a change in his schedule.

“Right now, it’s not apparent that that’s the case,” he added.

[Geee]

Cha-ching: Cough up another $2.85m to fuel Obama's 3-day fundraising trip

 

President Obama, grappling with two major international crises and a new federal court decision that threatens to dismantle Obamacare, hit the road for a three-day West Coast fundraising trip that will cost nearly $3 million just to fly Air Force One.

 

At $228,288 an hour, the base flight time of 12.5 hours from Washington to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and back to Andrews Air Force Base will cost taxpayers $2.85 million.

 

Expensive? That bill doesn’t include the cost of flying and housing staff and the Secret Service, or the prepositioning of equipment like limos to get the president from his hotel to events.

 

According to the White House pool report noting Obama’s departure from Andrews, “Obama has 5 fundraisers sked for the trip, as well as a speech on the economy on Thursday in LA.”

http://washingtonexaminer.com/cha-ching-cough-up-another-2.85m-to-fuel-obamas-3-day-fundraising-trip/article/2551140