Bush Made 77 Trips to Crawford TX at $226,072 a Pop

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Tuesday June 02, 2009 · 10:59 AM PDT

2009/06/02 · 10:59

I am delighted that President Obama took Michelle to my town, New York City, for dinner and a show. What a great advertisement for a great city! It was our delight to have them here, as the cheering crowds in the streets attest. And what a boon to Broadway, and tribute to the great playwright August Wilson and the fabulous cast of Joe Turner's Come and Gone! And of course the excellent restaurant Blue Hill will be booked solid for months to come. Mayor Bloomberg was thrilled about the visit, and so was I.

But the TV dimbulbs are still nattering about the cost of this day trip. Never mind that President Obama has been working for five months without a vacation, unlike the most vacationing president ever, Junior W. Bush. Try to google the cost of those 77 trips to Crawford TX on Air Force One and the information is nowhere to be found. Because it was never reported. I had to calculate the costs myself.

At a bare minimum, for the flights alone, Bush's 77 vacation trips to Crawford cost us $226,072 per trip. That's $17,407,544 so he could ride his bicycle in the woods and clear brush for the cameras.

My calculations on cost of the Crawford trips below the fold.

The minimum cost per trip to Crawford TX is $226,072. That's just the estimated cost of flying Air Force One round trip - about two hours of flight time each way at $56,518 per hour.

http://oversight.house.gov/...

THE COST OF PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE
PRESIDENTIAL POLITICAL TRAVEL
PREPARED FOR
REP. HENRY A.WAXMAN

This report assumes that flight operating costs are $56,518 per hour for Air Force One and $14,552 per hour for Air Force Two. These figures are based on the per hour cost figures cited by GAO for fiscal year 2000, adjusted for inflation.7

According to the Congressional Research Service, the President’s domestic travel also involves the use of accompanying cargo planes.8 This report assumes one cargo plane accompanies the President on each trip at an operating cost per hour of $6,960. This figure is based on the per-hour cost cited by GAO for fiscal year 2000 for the C-17 cargo plane, adjusted for inflation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/...

The distance from Crawford to Washington DC is 1295 miles.

http://www.history.com/...

TODAY'S AIR FORCE ONE

Speed: 630 miles per hour

http://www.cbsnews.com/...

George W. Bush is today making his final visit to Camp David as president.

He will likely miss the place: According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

President George Bush rides a mountain bike on his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

http://bicycling.about.com/...

So tell them to shut up already about Obama's trip to New York. Because I'm hoping he visits here again and again.

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Bush Made 77 Trips to Crawford TX at $226,072 a Pop

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