Notes of Concern....
...Jack Blair
Imperial Presidencies
For a long time American presidents modeled themselves on George Washington. One of the first things George did was tell the “Founders” he did not want to be a king. From that point on everything he did helped define what a president was supposed to do.
In more recent history presidents have favored acting like Kings. We have all the pomp and circumstance in entertaining at The White House. The costs of entertaining often seem like the exceed the basic costs of governing.
Barack Obama did not start this trend but he has happily participated in extending it. And if the numbers are to believed he has extended the imperial presidency considerably.
We do not need this kind of stuff.
Hopefully, one day we will have a President that reverses this trend.
DARN!
President Obama went to Brussels, and he did not take me.
I have been to Brussels, but I think doing Brussels with the Prez would probably beat the experience of traveling there on my own.
I held out hope until the last minute when he ordered “wheels up” on Air Force One, and I wasn’t among the passengers.
It seemed to me that since he was taking 900 people with him, in light of all those emails and letters I received during his presidential campaign, surely I would be on the list.
Well, I have comforted myself in the knowledge that his travel group, at 900 persons, would probably have not given the two of us much personal time. So, what the heck!
It was pretty decent of him to also take 45 vehicles and three planes. He doesn’t come up short when he is planning a trip. Still, my math shows that each of the 45 cars is going to need to carry 20 people. Well, in fairness, I don’t think the Prez is gonna have 20 in his car. He will ride with a driver and an agent. So actually, the other 44 cars are gonna be pretty full.
Those Belgians will think the circus has come to town. I shouldn’t go there, but with that lead-in, I have to mention that packing clowns into small cars has always been a show-stopper at the circus.
Let's see how it plays in Europe.
Now the three plane thing will probably work out pretty well. The Prez will get about 1/3 of Air Force One for himself. His nearest and dearest will take up the other 2/3. Now my readers are a pretty smart group and are probably thinking the other two planes will handle the remaining 800 or so people.
Wrong!
Got you there!
You forgot that the 45 cars have to be transported on one of the planes. So unless people are going to sit in car seats in the plane carrying the cars, the second plane is going to be filled to the overhead luggage bins.
I suppose in some dark and dank room in the budget office, there is a guy in a green eyeshade who could tell us what this trip is going to cost the American taxpayer. But unless he is being recorded by the NSA, we will never know.
I don’t think even Edward Snowden knows.
What we do know is that the Belgians are putting up 10 million Euros to help protect our guy and his cast of 900. With the current exchange rate. that means our Belgian friends are coughing up millions of US dollars.
Now with the cost to the US, which clearly will be larger than the Belgian millions added to the cost to the cost of the trip, I expect that total could keep a small country fed for some time.
But in the big picture, it is important for 900 of our guys to meet up with some similar number of other guys so we can size up the enemy. Whoops, that is so we can size up our friends. Whoops, why do we need to do that?
The answer to that is way above my pay grade as a U.S. Citizen and voter.
But if I were the Prez, here is what I would do.
I would get up in my White House quarters and ring for the steward at and ask for a plate of Eggs Benedict. Since I would soon be talking to my counterpart in Belgium, I might say hold the home fries and bring me some Pommes Frites with a dollop of mayo. Put the Pommes Frites in a paper cone when you serve them.
They serve those things all over Brussels. It could help get me in the mood for the chat.
After my valet laid out my suit and I was dressed and ready, I would walk over to The West Wing, down the stairs to the Situation Room, and give the signal.
The head of Belgium would be on the screen. I would be on the screen. Other world leaders would be on the screen.
The sound system would be perfect.
The NSA would be spying on us so we wouldn’t need a secretary to take minutes.
And we could just chat as long as we wanted. We would probably each have a Cabinet Officer or two in the room and maybe a general or two depending on what we were discussing.
End result: o millions of tax dollars saved
o acknowledgement that since Al Gore invented the internet we actually
don’t need to travel.
o 889 people who got to stay home with their families
o 44 cars that don’t need to be gassed up
o thousands of Belgians whose regular day will not be screwed up
by presidential motorcades of 44 cars.
o not a chance of anyone getting assassinated
o the meeting would be over in time to work in a round of golf because
the wife is over in China with the kids and the mother-in-law
o Boys Night Out!
Game-Set-Match!
You have to admit, this idea has potential.
