Washington, Jefferson, and Obama’s Expense Report…

As I watch the president of the United States jet off to India and Asia I couldn’t help but be reminded of the sharp contrasts to two of our former and greatest presidents, Washington and Jefferson. The contrast is telling and it shows how far away we have drifted from the true intentions of our founding fathers and principles.

Anyone that has read about Washington and Jefferson (school books excluded) knows that these two men spent their individual fortunes on activities that were carried out for the good of our country. In some of their letters they struggle and feel guilt for submitting their “expense reports” to the US Treasury for reimbursement. These two great men loved their country and were fiscally prudent about anything related to the newly formed republic. They considered the funds they used the people’s money. They knew everything they spent was a gift of the hard labors of the American people. They would be appalled at the current trip of our current president.

Barrack Obama has an entitlement mentality and as he demagogues about corporate greed and high roller Wall Street fat cats flying around in personal jets, he is flying around on our dime with estimates at the expense of 200 million dollars a day while the people labor and 10% of us have no jobs to go to. At least the corporate executives are not using tax payer money; they are earning their money through a free market. Well, what’s left of it?

The lavish travel and spending by this president is despicable and shows the complete disconnect of a man that has no connection to our founding fathers, principles, or simple common sense. I don’t care if it’s 200 or 20 million a day, there are smarter ways to spend that money. The president’s security is important but if he can’t travel to a place like Mumbai with normal security he shouldn’t go. Find a neutral place to have a discussion. Foreign policy is an important part of a president’s job, but with all of the domestic angst in the country I think he should start sitting down and working with fiscal conservatives and implementing policies to balance the budget. Real policies that are not throw backs to the “great society.”

I would like to see the expense report for this trip. I would like to compare it to the Jefferson’s and Washington’s in today’s dollars. It has only been a few hundred years since these great men struggled with submitting any expense to the US Treasury. I miss their frugalness and patriotic obligation to serving their fellow Americans…