The incumbent president is campaigning in the midwest in an effort to hang on to his job for another 4-year term.
He's traveling in a $1.2 million Canadian-made/U.S.-modified "bus" across several midwest states. As an aside, there are at least two companies in the U.S. that could have provided the bus: Blue Bird in Fort Valley, GA, and MCI in Schaumburg, IL .
How did he get to the midwest?
By Air Force One.
AF1,and its twin, AF2, are Boeing "VC-25"s; modified Boeing 747s designed to ferry the nation's chief executive in comfort and security. VC-35 specs are given at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/vc-25-specs.htm..
All AF1 costs the taxpayer, according to Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/24/military-pegs-hourly-air-force-cost-g-obama-sets-travel-record/) is a "mere" $181,757 per hour. Of course that's an "all inclusive" figure.
I don't mind POTUS traveling on a CV-25 for government business, and the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania has done a lot of that; Fox reports that "President Obama, as it turns out, has spent more days abroad in his first two years than any other president."
But I DO object to paying for the incumbent's campaigning.
That goes for ANY incumbent of ANY political party.
I also take umbrage when I hear of any politician, Allen West included, traveling on taxpayer expense to keep their job. Free rides are not limited to the president.
Incumbents always are in the catbird seat on the campaign trail.
They can send postage-free campaign literature to clutter our mail boxes.
And the travel perks.
When The Glorious Leader travels - and again, my comments are aimed at all presidential incumbents - the armored executive limo goes along (except when POTUS is traveling by "bus") as well as a cluster of Secret Service agents and other police and security personnel; the press tags along, too; the chosen ones with POTUS in AF1 and the "pool" in another government plane.
Once on the ground. local taxpayers are "privileged" to pay for the lights and sirens that precede and follow his entourage down blocked streets - a minor inconvenience for taxpayers on their way to/from work.
The party National Committee might pick up the tab for the politician's lodging - unless POTUS can figure some way to make it an "official" trip - in Miami's case, maybe to look where the new tunnel will be started . Likewise, the National Committee may even pick up the tab for the president's speaking venue.
The bottom line for me is to protect my bottom line - and, by extension, the country's.
We should not be forced to pay for purely political jaunts with little or no benefit to the taxpayer.
In these tough economic times, the incumbent should realize that and find other ways to fund the campaigning.
