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President Obama has Tour Buses Flown to Stump Speeches

By: Ben Howe (Diary)  |  August 29th, 2011 at 10:34 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

President Obama has been touring all over the midwest these past few weeks, giving speeches to crowds of fans, anxious to hear what’s next on his agenda.  One could be forgiven for believing that these are less about pushing the president’s current agenda, and more about launching the reelection campaign, however this is a charge that the administration adamantly denies.

But there is a very simple reason that this is viewed as more of a campaign effort.  Boasting bulletproof windows, five inch thick doors, and it’s own oxygen supply, the President has made the rounds for these speeches in a multi-million dollar bus, dubbed “The Beast” by it’s critics.  There’s been no shortage of opinions from people and pundits on this bus and how having the President tour around the midwest in a caravan of cars and seated on a tour bus sends the message that he is on the campaign trail and using taxpayer dollars to do it.

It appears however, that this might not be the case.  According to some sources he hasn’t really been riding these buses much at all.  They say, he’s been flying them.

Apparently President Obama only rode the buses for a couple of miles at a time, spending the rest of the time flying from community to community in Air Force One. What’s more, the buses were flown from stop to stop as well. It’s normal practice for the President’s entire motorcade to be loaded up on cargo planes and flown from destination to destination. The buses were just a new part of that motorcade.

But why wouldn’t the presidential limousine have sufficed? Or one of the other armored vehicles that routinely travel with the President? Apparently because the President wanted the imagery of a bus. And buses are what he got.

So good news America! If these reports are true, then not only do you get the pleasure of having a $1.1 million dollar bus carting the President around to “enlist” voters to fight for his reelection, but you get to marvel at the hypocrisy of an administration hell bent on destroying industries with carbon footprints too large for comfort, while they themselves are flying entire caravans of SUVs and buses in giant 747s flanked by fighter jets.

All so the president can travel a couple of miles per stop with the image that he’s on the ground with the people when in reality, he couldn’t be more detached from them, their problems, or this continually declining economy.  You couldn’t ask for a better metaphor.

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  • DerKrieger

    …gallons per mile does the Ontourage get?

    • radicalrighty

      Has any president and party been more blatent in their disregard for struggling Americans? Lavish vacations almost monthly, hauling throngs of friends and donors all over the world (in multiple planes) to stay in resorts affordable to only royaly and super wealthy. Buying Gulfstream jets to fly home in every weekend and running up a million dollar alcohol bill. All paid for by the taxpayers. And did I mention golf? Christ teaches us to not hate, so the word “despise” best describes my feelings for Obama, the entire democrat party, as well as their benefactors – the MSM. Obama, Reid, Shumer, Pelosi, Rangle, Frank, et al, would all be behind bars if we had any semblance of journalism in this country. Money trails have trails after all, and they all have used their positions to get their pockets padded, to become wealthy, from the very interests who received our tax money. But “journalists” turn a blind eye as Rome burns.

      • jettthemesh

        The so-called journalist’s aren’t turning a “blind-eye!” There are actively participating in our destruction!!!

      • darjon38

        It takes 4800 gallons of fuel ever time AF1 takes of, it cruises at 3600 gallons per hour. Total cost is $72,000 per hour of flight time.
        The jumbo C 5′s, C131, or C17 that haul his tour busses and his armored vehicles cost $85,000 to $100,000 per hour to fly. There is usually another jumbo jet that hauls his “service people” at an additional $72,000 per hour.
        It is easy to see that when this potus takes off on one of his “non-campaign” trips, we pay dearly with taxpayers money that this bankrupt country just does not have. But what the hey, this is a “one half minority” president who feels he is entitled to all he can get because “his people” have been exploited for centuries.
        And we don”t even know who he really is, thanks to the non-vetting lame-stream media.

        • funwithknives

          when you want one? Itinerary is published , NO? How many airports in a given area can accomodate all this activity? Stake ‘em out and get filming. Even if he uses military bases, long distance lenses DO exist.

          • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

            This an “AP reporter said” story was fishy from the start. What was the name of the reporter? Blank out. What airfields did Opuppet and the bus(es) fly in and out of? Blank out.

            What was the distance of the route traveled? Blank out. What was the distance between stops where Obama and the motorcade was filmed or photographed? Blank out.

            Here’s the official route and itinerary from the White House web site:

            http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/08/15/tune-president-obamas-town-hall-meetings-week

            Here are the official photos from the tour, showing Opuppet in various locations along the route:

            http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/midwestern-bus-tour-economy

            Here’s a link to a Google Map showing the route Opuppet took with the bus based on the itineary and the photos on the White House web site about the tour:

            http://g.co/maps/chkx

            Here’s a video of the motorcade in Zumbrota, MN, traveling south from Cannon Falls, MN to Chatfield, MN:

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_wmwwTTfcw

            Here’s a video of the motorcade in Davenport, Iowa:

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2FLx2LKOgw&feature=related

            Other amateur videos show the motorcade traveling through Rochester, MN, Decorah, IA, Galesburg, IL, Alpha, IL and other small towns on the route.

            I do not believe the buses, and Obama, did anything other than actually drive the route, staying in hotels at night. The distance of the entire route was only about 400 miles and the greatest distance between any of the cities where photos or video of the bus was taken was 49 miles.

            You are also on the right track about the airfields in that area of the country that could handle the aircraft that would have been needed to fly the bus. There are few.

            Thank you.

            ColdWarrior

  • http://www.skiloveland.com skicougar

    I hadn’t drank enough at one time to where it made me literally throw up in probably 20 years now.

    If Obama somehow wins on election night in 2012, I just might have to repeat that again. If I have to alcohol induce myself, i’m going to make myself physically ill if he wins.

  • http://www.unifiedpatriots.com/ pilgrim

    .

  • http://www4.webng.com/rickbull/lostlucky/ rickbull

    You mean there are people who didn’t know that 0bama was having the bus and the entourage flown from one place to another? And I live in Red State Flyover country (TN) where he’s probably not even going to bother to fly in and stop.

    No, folks. The One is not going to ride in a bus from DC to San Francisco. He *might* ride in it from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.

    • pttx333

      city limit sign to destination in town – if that far. Or maybe from the airport if it is very close in. LOL

  • melanerpes

    This president apparently is gets his campaign ideas from Sarah Palin.

    • Ben Howe

      Sarah Palin is not having her buses flown around on the taxpayers dime.

    • gunslingr45

      just you libs pay for it and it not be forced on us?

      • funwithknives

        Stuff like this surely puts *The Moe* in MOE-RON. For some, a keybord is a thing to be avoided. Like Mr. …erpes, here. Exhibit “A”.

  • http://twitter.com/TJexcite tjexcite

    His whole image was an contrived illusion why stop now.

  • quill67

    Speculation: Threats to Obama require more protection that limo can provide.
    Secret Service would never admit to this being the case.

    Obama must be protected. The usual suspects (terrorists) would love to have a President assassinated, but so would leftist. Obama is unpopular and a shocked country just might elect a liberal in his place. Obama is also unpopular with the extreme left because of the wars. These groups have a pattern of using explosives (green terror groups, weather underground, etc.)

    So protect Obama so he can be defeated, rejected, and denounced.

    • pttx333

      …

      • drawer22

        …I presume, precedes execution for high crimes.

        • pttx333

          long as it occurred shortly thereafter.

  • http://wingright.org bnuckols

    I just didn’t know it would be at 40,000 feet!

  • Adjoran

    At least when all is said and done, it can be recorded that Obama did a few things well, like read from a teleprompter pair, create illusions of being a normal American, take lavish holidays, and throw other people’s money around.

  • allidoischeckfacts2011

    Two reasons.

    1. Live Leak is not a terribly good source of written evidence. If it has footage then fine. The opinion of the Liveleak writer, however, should not be used as “evidence”.

    2. The CSMonitor webpage linked to has this to say:

    For three decades, whenever a president wanted a more folksy means of travel, the Secret Service would spend loads to lease buses and outfit them with state-of-the-art safety and communications features?only to later pay to have them returned to their standard form.

    • allidoischeckfacts2011

      (I’m still getting used to this comment system. I needed to add something to the previous post and couldn’t edit.)

      It could be argued that Obama’s purchase and use of these buses is cheaper than the previous practice of leasing/modifying them.

      • mirac777

        of renting a 60 room hotel needs to be explained for a group that wants to appear to be traveling by a custom 1.1 million dollar bus around the country. When you go on a “bus tour” you are supposed to live on, and travel by bus, not fly from town to town. Bus travel is mainly looked upon as a cheap way to travel, which is what Obama is trying to falsely convey here.

        This whole charade was as phony as a 3-dollar bill, and just because the Goebbels- esque Obama administration hides the information about it being a corporate taxpayer funded campaign tour and not a bus tour, common sense says this is just a bunch of fake B/S. I don’t need a “credible source” to see through this charade. Maybe I can do my own fact-check on your way of thinking here, and come to the conclusion that you lack common sense and exude a political correctness based on said severe lack of common sense and the ability to think for yourself instead of waiting for the “credible sources” to tell you if it is raining outside or not in life. Look out the dam window man..

    • mirac777

      are “credible” enough for you?

      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-16/obama-debuts-monster-campaign-bus/2840726

      • Finrod

        Check this out from the above url:

        Each of the new buses will be available to Mr Obama and the eventual Republican presidential nominee if required through the duration of the 2012 election season.

        But because they are part of the official US government fleet, campaigns will not be able to splash their political logos or other banners over the buses, which will retain their black paint schemes.

        The vehicles will also be used as secure, mobile locations for the Secret Service when protectees travel to remote locations, Mr Donovan said.

        Obama wants to get whoever the Republican nominee is into one of these buses, that way complaints about the buses can be reflected with “but your nominee is riding around in one too!”.

        Expect Obama to try to draw an equivalence, even if it’s a false one, between things he’s criticized for and things the R nominee does. Obfuscation is the name of the game.

  • rickey5825

    someone is keeping track of the price of this lying weasel flying himself and busses from campaign stop to campaign stop on our dime.Then we can bill his campaign after we kick his butt out of office!

  • ag8tor

    boggles the mind. However, is anyone surprised at this foolishness? He’s already shown that he is really good at spending other peoples money. Can’t wait till this uppity a**hole and his entire band of theives are out of office. Enough already!!!

  • Darin_H

    It’s good to be the king, and if you’re not king, it’s fun to pretend while the taxpayers pick up the bill.

    • Darin_H

      proof reading is good….

  • jaykali

    Do as I say, not as I do. Oh and he knows how to fix your economic woes…getting under 20 mpg in your car? Trade that sucker in for a 40 thousand dollar electric vehicle. Problem solved. Oh, and by the way…you’re welcome.

    • funwithknives

      all the kids to get an hybrid VAN? There aren’t any, at any price. payable by him or me. When Barry needed his, was it Hybrid? Why, perish that errant thought! There aren’t any, that would fill the bill. Is there a common thread here? I’m just a dumb ignorant Constitutional Conservative, WatTheHel do I know?

  • lizaz

    of our money!!! We Independents are though with this “administration”!!!!

  • JimmyGee

    Everything about BHO screams “Entitlement!” As President he is entitled to have 2.2 MILLION dollars worth of (Canadian made) buses. And if he doesn’t want to use them for more than a mile or two beyond the photo-op, he is entitled to have them air-lifted to the next stop. Doesn’t matter to what extent the armed forces have to go to transport 2 very large and very heavy buses to the next stop. USAF C-17, C-124 Globemaster….no matter, this president is entitled to the resource. Just as Nancy Pelosi was entitled to a USAF version of a fat-cat corporate jet stocked with nearly 100,000 worth of high-end booze for her and her family. No excuse, no shame, no accountability…she was entitled.
    Just like when the President went abroad (I am not sure where this was) and DEMANDED a room facing the ocean. The conversation went something like this:
    BHO: I want a room facing the ocean.
    Secret Service (SS): Mr. President, that will require us to have the Navy bring warships into the bay to protect you.
    BHO: And that is a problem why?
    SS to Navy: We need you have put a few warships in the harbor to protect the President.
    Navy: Are you fricking kidding me?
    SS to Navy: Afraid not, he and his wife wants a room facing the bay.
    Navy to SS: Why doesn’t he get another room? Word has it, he has the whole fricking floor!
    SS: He’s entitled…..other than that, we got nothing.
    Our entitlement president and his entitlement wife, are entitled to use Air Force 1 & 2, and extra helicopters so our entitlement First Lady can go on vacation 4 hours before our entitlement president. Really?
    The truth is that he is the first president that literally grew up on entitlements and affirmative action. He simply has no ability of looking beyond his narcissistic self! Other Presidents, especially the evil republican ones, looked at the cost and effort their actions would cost the US taxpayer. They took vacations at home. If they went abroad they worked WITH the Secret Service and US military to reduce the expenses and effort.
    Welcome to our first Entitlement President!

  • gumby1996

    I’d Love to know if the Canadians were “green” conscious when building these buses, because we all know America can’t be up to par with our up-north neighbors.

    I’d also like to know how the pilots and driver thought about carting the Great Zero and his ilk across the Midwest, knowing they too help pay for it.

    And finally…I’d like to know how stoo-peed this man thinks we are (even whether he did intend for us to found this out or not) to listen with a grain of salt to what his head groupie, Carney says…or anything for that matter.

    This man makes me sick, I think I need a doctor…wait (Zero-care), nevermind, ill go see a witch doctor instead. The audacity, and not of hope, of this man to sneak around the country on AF1 lying to us and telling us to put “skin in the game” so he can milk the benefits puts serious amounts of piss in my bowl of Coco Puffs. Its bad enough that he is giving good people a bad rep for not following his agendas and using the media to facilitate it, though more and more Americans are looking through it, but the shear pompous arrogance he uses to justify this is ALL wrong.
    This crap is just more of an insensitive of living in a red state, so he wont be making any appearances here either, and I’m ok with that. Please, El Presidente, don’t waste your time and our money. :)

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