Mark Steyn is spot on with this: Our citizen president needs to stop "Queening" it up...

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama really like the perks of power...

The Royal Presidency:  Mark Steyn was guest hosting on Rush Limbaugh today and revisited just how unseemly and pathetic Barack and Michelle Obama have been.  Multi-million dollar vacations for the Obama seem to be seasonal now.  Anywhere the President goes involves a 40 car entourages (and that actually makes the President less secure, not more so).  Incorporating the White House into the Academy Awards was creepy too.  Now there is a star studded 50th birthday party for Michelle Obama in the works.  It sends the wrong signal and it is contrary to our tradition of citizen presidents.  


Update:

Big-spending Obamas cost 23 times more than British royal family bizpacreview.com/2013/03/12/big… via @bizpacreview
— Paul Pelletier (@echoreferee) March 14, 2013

To cut services while engaged in these petty (but expensive) excesses is not right.  The monarchies of Europe abandoned this pompous excess long ago.  Unlike a republic, monarchy in a democratic age means you can’t go around queening it.

It is arguably not even appropriate to have over the top events funded by donors.  I am more flexible in that regard (obviously there are political and other social events during the year that a President needs to occasionally attend), but some of these lavish private affairs show favoritism and elitism that implies you have to "pay to play."  And while the Obamas have been excessive, this is not just a criticism of Democrats.  Republican do this stuff too (just not anywhere near as much because the media would call them on it).

Washington, D.C. and our federal leaders need to step back from being the Court of Versailles