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On June 16, 2004, CNN reported, “President Bush is using Air Force One for re-election travel more heavily than any predecessor, wringing maximum political mileage from a perk of office paid for by taxpayers. While John Kerry digs into his campaign bank account to charter a plane to roam the country, Bush often travels at no cost to his campaign simply by declaring a trip ‘official’ travel rather than ‘political.’ Even when the White House deems a trip as political, the cost to Bush’s campaign is minimal. In such instances, the campaign must only pay the government the equivalent of a comparable first-class fare for passengers. It’s a minuscule sum, compared to the $56,800-per-hour it costs to run Air Force One.”
In 2012 terms, each one of President Bush’s 77 trips to Crawford, TX on Air Force One cost the taxpayers, over $727,000. President Bush’s trips to his ranch alone cost the taxpayers the equivalent of $55,979,000. This doesn’t include all of the campaign stops that the then president used Air Force One for in 2004.
Presidents have always used Air Force One for political activities. Back in 1984, Ronald Reagan used Air Force One to run for reelection. Obama technically wasn’t campaigning with his post State Of The Union western swing. He hasn’t mentioned his reelection in any of his remarks. The president is using the bully pulpit to rally support for his agenda.
Beyond the hypocrisy, the most absurd part of Fox News’ Air Force One attack on Obama is the fact that they don’t think the president should be flying in the official president aircraft. If President Obama isn’t supposed to use Air Force One, how is he supposed to fly? The President Of The United States can’t fly commercial. President Obama isn’t using Air Force One as his personal taxi to head down to the ranch like George W. Bush did.
More:
http://www.politicususa.com/obama-air-force-one.html
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