Well, the US Press doesn't seem interested in telling us, but George the W certainly doesn't seem interested in traveling light in his trip to Australia for the APEC summit. As the New Zealand Herald article begins:
Ever feel guilty about over-packing on your travels? George Bush will make you feel better.
It isn't just Air Force One ... it is the three jumbo jets, military transport aircraft, VIP jets, the 50 White House political aides, the 150 "national security advisors" and "200 specialists from other government departments" and ... well ... we're just beginning.
In the 1990s, the Republican Policy Council hit Clinton hard for his travel and were echoed by the US media ... Where's the discussion of W's excesses?
A Google search can be interesting. Type in clinton president travel africa gao report cost and you get 182,000 ("about", that is) hits. The first three are Republican Policy Council attacks on Clinton. The next two: National Taxpayers' Union. Anyone think they had a sound machine operation going?
Now, let's think about this a minute. According to the RPC (note that this is specifically titled with a dating as part of RPC "SpinDocs" ...), President Clinton was the presidential "Traveler-in-CHief" with "186 days out of the country as of 9/20/99". Well, that just about parallels George W's time in office. What is George's claim to fame (other than destructive policies, abuse of the Constitution, etc?)? President most on vacation -- down in Crawford, Texas.
Which would you prefer? A President who emphasized traveling around the world to meet with the world's leaders and gain perspective while winning friends? Or one who preferred clearing brush in the Texas summer while summoning world leaders to meet him in that lovely meeting ground?
In any event, back to George the W's travel entourage ... traveling to Sydney, Australia, required Black Hawk helicopters, sniffer dogs, "Cadillac One" (the armored Presidential limo) and other armored vehicles, 250 Secret Service personnel, and unknown numbers of military personnel.
Well, we just have to be glad that Laura isn't along for the ride. Wonder how big her entourage would be.
In any event, is anyone in the traditional media going to notice George the W's excesses?
NOTE I had poorly searched before writing this. On 8/25, Shigeru had a good diary based on a Sydney Herald article outlining more details of the President's entourage. This list included the "First Lady support staff" as item 16, but the 15 other items remain relevant ... For some info as to the $350 million (Australian) of Aussie security investments, including a "9.2 foot high "ring of steel" barrier, which stretches 5.5km around the site", see this AFP article.
UPDATE
Here is an Australian thread discussing security in Sydney. "I don’t have a problem with a major Australian city hosting an event such as APEC, though I do understand that the security being enforced is over the top and disturbing on any number of levels."