This week Barack Obama goes to Europe. Its his first overseas visit as President. He will attend the G20 Summit in London. He is taking a Presidential entourage of 500 people, limousines, airplanes, helicopters and more for the one day meeting. Read about it below and see photos and a video.
Obama Goes to Europe - Presidential Limousine
Europe is having to prepare for the Obama Presidential entourage. I’m sure it will be quite a sight to see and a real pain to have to accommodate. To say he doesn’t pack light is a gross understatement.
Have you ever before heard about a President traveling with so many advisers and accessories and all the accouterments of luxury and personal comfort? Yes, I know, none of our Presidents hop in a plane and stay in the Days Inn where ever they go - but this is really nothing short of a logistical nightmare for whoever has to put it all together. Not to mention, can you just imagine the carbon footprint he’s leaving? Of course, as the Chief of the Effete Elite™, he doesn’t have to worry about that. That’s just something us little people have to worry about.
Did you know Obama has a personal valet? His personal aide is Reggie Love. Mr. Love dials Obama’s blackberry for him, provides him with nicorette gum when needed, keeps aspirin on hand, fetches water, makes sure whatever the President needs is at hand and basically runs whatever errands the President tells him to. DIALS HIS BLACKBERRY FOR HIM!
Aside from Reggie Love, who is always at Obama’s beck and call, there is an entrouage of over 500 people accompanying the President on this trip. I know he needs a LOT of advisers, but don’t you think this is a little much. Of course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, will be accompanying him. Also he’ll have head of the national Economic Council Larry Summers and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer along.
But that’s not all. He’s taking a team of American doctors (does that mean he doesn’t trust nationalized health care?) who are armed with high tech equipment and plenty of blood of Obama’s blood type. In addition, he’s taking his own chefs to fix him his food. Does he not want to eat what the locals eat? Does he have a food taster as well? Actually he does. The secret service does that as well as testing the air quality (I’m not kidding). He has 200 Secret Service Agents who have already made trial runs in Europe in preparation of this trip. Then, of course, there’s Michelle Obama’s staff.
The Presidential Limousine will be flown over (pictured above). It is equipped like none other before it has ever been. Of course it has reinforced steel plating, but it also has night-vision cameras, a tear-gas cannon and oxygen tanks. There will be decoy helicopters going along for the trip.
Although its not mentioned anywhere, I do imagine that the Presidential teleprompter will have a prominent place in this dog and pony show.
All of this, and more, for a one day meeting in London, England of the 20 top economies in the world, the G20 Summit.
In fairness to Obama, he is staying a couple of extra days. He’s planning some behind closed doors meetings with powerful world leaders. As the United Kingdom papers are reporting, his approval numbers are dropping and many of these leaders need a boost themselves, so they are all vying for photo ops with each other. The White House will have strict control over what photographs and news is reported from these high level meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
These cram-packed behind closed doors meetings with the leaders of troubled regions are being billed as primarily photo opportunities and an attempt to make amends for ignoring foreign issues in the first months of his Presidency. So he’ll meet with them with select members of his entourage, get some photos and move on to the next world leader. I suppose that means all will be well assuming they fall for the Obama charm offensive.
After these meetings he heads off to meetings in France, Germany and the Czech Republic. He is also traveling to Turkey and is expected to deliver a ‘long awaited speech to the Muslim world’ from Istanbul.
I wonder what gifts he is taking all these heads of state? I hope its not DVD sets of movies that they can’t watch.
Obama Goes to Europe - Video
March 30th, 2009 at 6:06 am
I guess the U.S. need to accept the suggestions of the E.U., and the E.U.and the other nations need to adopt an advanced smart grid technology, which is worth the deficit for job creation and economic activity, is something to do ultimately.
I think like USA, the world economy also urgently needs job creation, and like internet, the global economy requires common ground, that is why The World-Wide Green New Deal is necessary.
We can not rebuild grand economy on the volatile, declining energy base, instead, the world has enough technology and its potential, I suppose.
Thank you !
March 30th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
He and Mrs Barry O are the only 2 people in the US that don’t have to sacrifice a thing…ain’t it grand! And ya know, those phones do have voice activated dialing..the way he likes to yap all the time, one would think he would be using it. Poor Reggie…wonder if he bathes him,too.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Poor Reggie…wonder if he bathes him,too.
I wondered the same thing! I wonder if he dresses him like old Europe royalty had ladies in waiting dress them. I mean, he IS the most pretentious president we’ve had in recent history (probably in forever).
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:50 pm
You are a stupid cow! Blue collar people always seem to vote against their best interest’s…so sad that you have to resort to mud slinging to feel better about losing last fall…do you really think Bush, Clinton and 1’st Bush didn’t rely on staff, food tasters, etc? when they traveled? Why can’t people in this country just stop hating the “OTHER TEAM” and just try their best to make this country a better place? Stop Hating! Don’t become so heavily invested in your candidate that you lose your fucking mind when they lose (applicable to BOTH parties!)
GROW THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!!! This USED to be OUR COUNTRY!!! TAKE IT BACK AND DON’T LET THE PETTY SHIT HYPNOTIZE YOU! THAT”S WHAT THEY WANT!!
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
And we’re suppose to be in some kind of resession! Carbon footprints…go ahead and tax me somemore, we wouldn’t want the bills to go “past-due” for the friggin’ White House now would we. Five hundred people..sorry that’s a little excessive in my opinion!
April 4th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
To be sure, 500 people is a large number. Given that 200 of them are press corp and pay their own way, it’s significantly less than the 700 “official” people GW Bush took for a junket to Australia (a minor power in the grand scheme of today’s world) or the 2000 he took to Argentina. So, as someone else said, let’s be realistic and realize that the cost of having a president is significant, particularly when visiting the other heads of state. It’s unrealistic to expect that Great Britain would provide (and pay for) all the personal security that each nation demands at such a summit, or that they would guarantee the safety (from food terrorism, even) of each nation’s delegation. So, we do for ourselves and try to not be such a burden on our hosts. Where I come from, that’s called being polite.
Now, some of the news bits you might use for comparison:
(http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Talk_about_Entourage__Obama_Does_the_UK_90331)
“As massive as Obama’s entourage may seem, it is not the largest of its kind by recent presidents. In September 2007 President Bush, during a typical, unremarkable visit to Australia, brought along not one, not two, but three Jumbo jets (Air Force One plus two C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft), and 700 personnel, including 250 Secret Service agents, 50 political aides, 150 national security advisers, 200 specialists from other government departments, a chef and four cooks.”
(http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1106-26.htm)
“Some aspects of George Bush’s travels have become commonplace, including massive protests, sporadic violence and tight security operations. All of these usual elements–notably the imperial-style arrival of the US president with an entourage of 2,000 people and four AWACS surveillance systems–were present at the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina.”
(http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/02/inside-the-ring-89874599/)
“The Air Mobility Command, part of the U.S. Transportation Command, was ordered to provide airlift for the president’s entourage of nearly 500 people, including senior officials, staff, support personnel, news reporters and some 200 Secret Service agents for the European visit, which began Tuesday in London.
“Airlift for the traveling entourage also was used to move the president’s new heavy-armored limousine and several presidential helicopters used for short transits.”
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/nov/19/uk.iraq)
“Mr Bush, his wife, Laura, and a 700-strong entourage worthy of a travelling medieval monarch, flew into Heathrow airport slightly late, at 7.22pm. The couple were greeted by the Prince of Wales, then whisked to the palace by US military helicopter.”