【mail online】How Obamas' romantic £120 trip to Broadway racked up a £45,000 bill

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How Obamas' romantic £120 trip to Broadway racked up a £45,000 bill
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1189893/How-Obamas-romantic-120-trip-Broadway-racked-45-000-bill.html
By David Gardner      Last updated at 9:07 AM on 01st June 2009

...that's for three private jets, two helicopter rides, extra planes for security and closing roads for motorcade It was a campaign pledge that Barack Obama didn't dare break  -  a promise to take his wife out for dinner and a show once the election was over.
So on the weekend he booked a babysitter, asked Michelle to put on a little black dress and swept her off for a date.
The President picked up the tab for a meal at a low-key restaurant, Blue Hill, that specialises in locally grown dishes.

Let's hit the town: President Barack Obama and wife Michelle prepare to leave the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on a flight to New York for their night out

Mr Obama clasps his wife's hand as he helps her negotiate the White House lawn in high heels on their way to Marine One for the start of the date


He had also paid £60 apiece for two tickets to Joe Turner's Come And Gone, a play about a man coming to terms with the history of slavery.
As a little extra, he shelled out for two martinis to toast his first five months in the White House.
Overall, not too extravagant, and few would begrudge the hard-working couple such a treat.
Unfortunately, there were one or two other bills to settle at the end of the night.

High spirits: The President promised his wife a night out once the election was over when on the campaign trail last year

The romantic jaunt is estimated to have cost the taxpayer more than £45,000 in transport and security costs  -  because the date was in New York.
The President used three planes, one to carry the couple and two to ferry aides and reporters all the way from Washington.
The cost of each flight was thought to be nearly £15,000.

The bill was pushed even higher with the use of two helicopters, one to take the Obamas to catch their plane in Washington and another to zip the party into Manhattan from JFK airport.
Police also shut down New York streets for the motorcade to pass through so they could get to their date on time.

Table for two: The couple dined at the Blue Hill restaurant in Greenwich Village. Meanwhile diners were eager to take pictures of the President and his First Lady


Stretching the budget: The presidential limo waits at the theatre

All the transport and security costs were picked up by the White House.
But the President was unapologetic, saying: 'I am taking my wife to New York City because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished.'
In one concession to the tough economic climate, the couple flew on a smaller Gulfstream rather than the Boeing 747 customarily used as the presidential Air Force One.

Let's hit Broadway: The couple enjoyed a performance at the Belasco Theatre of Joe Turner's Come And Gone

In demand: The presidential visit drew huge crowds outside the theatre


However, Gail Gitcho, of the Republican National Committee, said Mr Obama could just as easily have taken his wife to see a show in Washington for a fraction of the cost.
'If President Obama wants to go to the theatre, isn't the presidential box at the Kennedy Centre good enough?' she said.

The Republican Party slammed the President for taking an extravagant outing at a time when American car giant General Motors is set to plunge into bankruptcy.
'As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan's theatre 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,' read the statement issued before the trip.


Great night: The presidential couple arrive home to the White House in Washington but have been criticised for spending £45,000 of taxpayers' money on the three planes during the course of his night out