The Republican National Committee slammed the outing in an "RNC Research Piece": "As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan’s theater district on Air Force One to take in a Broadway show, GM is preparing to file bankruptcy and families across America continue to struggle to pay their bills. ... Have a great Saturday evening – even if you’re not jetting off somewhere at taxpayer expense. ... PUTTING ON A SHOW: Obamas Wing Into The City For An Evening Out While Another Iconic American Company Prepares For Bankruptcy."
The RNC's Gail Gitcho added: "If President Obama wants to go to the theater, isn’t the Presidential box at the Kennedy Center good enough?”
Best to leave the criticism to the press. I know, I know, that ain't gonna happen, but for the Republican party to harp about makes the Republicans look like a bunch of scolds. Obama was wrong to criticize CEOs of companies receiving bailout money to take long-ago planned trips to Vegas and the like - whether those kinds of meetings can be profitable is the subject for another post but I'd be among those to defend them, or at least allow them and let stock holders decide if they should be allowed, not politicians - and it's wrong to criticize the President for trips like this.
The President likely has to shell out of his own pocket the expense for the tickets and dinner - if they weren't donated, and if they were, they'd have to be tallied and disclosed - while the rest of the expense of the trip was, yes, picked up by the taxpayer but then that's what happens any time a President goes anywhere or does anything. That's not unheard of. I had no problem with President Bush vacationing at this home in Crawford; I have no real problem with President Obama taking a day or two off to go to NYC.
Besides, there are real issues to criticize the President about. This isn't one of them.
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