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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
President Barack Obama winks as he arrives in a briefing room to make remarks after the House of Representatives acted on legislation intended to avoid the fiscal cliff, at the White House on Jan. 1, 2013.
Aude Guerrucci / Pool via Getty Images
President Obama leaves the White House in the early morning hours of January 2, 2013. He will return to Hawaii, after coming back to Washington DC during his holiday to work on the fiscal cliff issue.
President Obama praised lawmakers and Vice President Joe Biden after the House of Representatives voted to pass a Senate measure to avert the most serious impacts of the so-called fiscal cliff.
Reuters reports — President Barack Obama departed the White House on Tuesday to resume his Hawaii vacation shortly after Congress approved legislation that raises taxes on the wealthiest Americans and avoids the fiscal cliff of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts.
The president left the White House shortly before midnight. He had cut short his vacation to oversee negotiation of a deal before a year-end deadline.
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Thank you, President Obama, for all you have done so far for ALL Americans. Happy New Year to the entire family. We're with you for another 4 years for certain. You taught us, Yes, WE can. Fired Up! Ready to go.
keep drinking the Koolaid.
earthgirl - Wow! What kind of alternate reality are you living in???
Enjoy your vacation Barry! You gotta be tired from all that campaigning.
Oh yeah, and as of yesterday, my out of pocket for health insurance nearly doubled.
Thanks for nothing. The budget mess is worse. I would like to hear how you dems plan on fixing the budget.
Another 4m tax $ wasted
Yes earth girl great job and well done I just lost about $30.00 per week on my paycheck,
and no I'm far from being a 1%er. Yep great fu***** job ahole.Have a great vacation on taxpayers money.
By the way don't forget the executive order for pay increases to congress they did a great job too and deserve it.
You must be really sick to believe that this man will help you in any way. He ass should have stayed in Washington and his family come back also. I am sick and tired of paying for his joyride throughout the world and never receiving anything back from his jaunts. He is the worst president so far. I hate to see what the USA will be like 4 years from now. It's going to be a really bumpy ride.
Suckers
fixitman21
She must be living in the alternate reality where Romney didn't win the Nov. election because the majority of people were satisfied with Obama's accomplishments, such as getting the US economy out of the Bush recession. That's the alternate reality that most people refer to as simply "reality."
...and Prez-0 flies back to Hawaii on Air Force One at a cost of $180,000 / hour. It take ~10 hours to fly to Hawaii from DC, so Prez-0 just cost the taxpayers another $1.8 million dollars.
ComradeChaos
Bush flew around at public expense, too, like flew out of D.C. for John McCain's birthday party instead of going to New Orleans to inspect the disaster from Hurricane Katrina. Do different rules apply to white presidents than for black ones?
Accomplishments?? Name one please?? You call the 16T deficit an accomplishment?? You call no budget an accomplishment? Last time I looked we are still in a recession....HELLOOOOOOOO!
He got elected based on his freebies, flip-flops and false promises.....nothing more.
No race card here Houston!
Bush did inspect the Katrina damage. Did Obama go into NYC?
His accomplishments are looking at history and trying to repeat it, especially when former tactics he's tried to employ worked during the Great Depression (even though Republicans have fought it tooth and nail). His accomplishments beyond that are Health Care, and doing everything he can to try and funnel money back downwards, since all the "trickle downs" are screaming and crying like children, even though none of the money was trickling down at all. They were hoarding it, and stealing even more.
He's tried to make due on his promises, but the Republicans have done everything to make him a one term President, fighting anything he sponsored, or stood behind, while porking up their own bills that would make their own wallets fatter. He was elected because he wanted to bring change, but unfortunately the President only has as much power and CONGRESS will let him. Try to remember that. He made it well known he wanted to better education, and health care, yet you continue to cling to a warmongering group of nutjobs that would rather cross their arms and pout than work in the interest of the American People.
So by all means, pout and cry. He's got 4 more years under his belt, and if your Republican Masters would see us go through 4 more years of crap to try and force a Republican into office, so be it. I don't expect any less from the biggest party of babies I have ever seen.
Also, "ComradeChaos", he had to fly back in because Republicans wouldn't play nice with the Democrats, and would rather see everyone burn that to see any of the rich have to pay a single penny back to this nation. The same nation that they abandon for countries with less restrictive laws, taking all our jobs so they can pinch more pennies. Because afterall, enough is never enough for them. I suppose you daydream of sweatshops and child labor. You really should move to China.
Yeah Houston, it's because Bush is white and Obama is black. Moron!
Are all republicans bad at math? The average 747 burns about a gallon of Jet-A per second. That is 3600gal/hr. At the current price of Jet-A of about $6.50/gal that comes to $23,400/hr or $234,000 for a 10 hour flight. While that is expensive, it's nowhere near 1.8 million. If I've missed something, I'm sure you will let me know.
But here's the kicker, the president was ready to sign the bill well before he left for vacation a week ago. Shouldn't the cost-saving republicans have agreed to a deal then - and a much better deal than they got by the way - to save money?
There's much more than just the price of jet fuel to figure into the equation....
@Houston - your race card is showing skid marks
@JM - as stated, it costs much more that fuel to fly Air Force One.
...dems, its a pity they breed ignorance & racism to the next generations...
Dumd a$$ libtards. hes not doing a good job plain and simple has nothing to do with his color or religion.
President Obama are you dumb enough to think that the tax cuts are going to fix our economy? YOU and Congress have to quit spending like a drunk sailor (No disrespect to drunk sailors intended). But I guess it doesn't matter as long as YOU get what YOU want by destroying the US. Gun control is next and then he's going to work on taking any 401k's anyone has worked for years to try and save so we won't be a burden on the tax payers or our kids.
Nah! He is not dumb, you are the dumb ass who think you can fight two wars on credit card, have the best military without paying for it. Most of you hatters are reading and rearing to go fight another war in Iran. Ask yourself this: what happened to the Clinton surplus? You are entitled to you own opinion, but not to your own set of facts.
For all of your fools who will never make 400k , without health insurance, I say let your sorry ass go jump off some bridge, because Barack Obama will be your president for this next 4. We litigated that in the past year, and yes he beat your ass senselessly. End of discussion!
Wow, thanks for clearing that up Johnnie. You certainly changed my mind......
to bad he cant spell haters. hatters stupid. beat my ass senseleesly WTF is that?
Absolutely Mr. President. Please keep the faith in 2013. If Congress - particularly the House of Representatives do not get to the business of the American people in the next month - we have not time to waste - then no one in my family will vote for any incumbent come the mid-terms. Everyone is accountable - they seem to need peer pressure - like little children. They have forgotten that the American people are important - the majority of the American peole not special interests and/or only those who can "pay". I hope other families will join us to promote the positive future of our Country. Happy New Year.
Dotti, Can't agree more but you Fu**** up by your post it sounds like you voted a 2nd time for our lord and savior obumba. I guess you don't consider Unions special interest groups
He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity; he who purses his lips is bent on evil.
Proverbs 16:30
He who quotes an old musty book that was written by angry, sexless old men that hated everyone that wasn't them need not an internet connection, lest they look like a heehaw in the world's eye.
Me, 1st page, 4th post
Helps explain why the Democrats removed the word God from their platform...
Thank you for your insight
ThaMonkeh
The world, with the exception of eight souls, heehawed and mocked at Noah too. You better stop laughing before it is too late!
whatever john
I would like to push them all over the fiscal cliff and start all over . this is getting to be like a circus show. ohhhh he took time off from his vacation to do some work(and I use that word work loosly). I am sorry but doesn't anyone think that this president is taking too many vacations? FFS!!! when he retires from office he will have enough time to vacation. this is like a joke for the Americans. I say everyone stop paying taxes .and see where they get their money . this whole gov makes me sick to my stomach. and it is sad to see so many ppl with their heads up their A$$e$.
Yeah but think of all those frequent flyer miles he's accumulating on Air Force 1....
Notice that the liberal media purposely try to hide the fact that obama has taken back off to Hawaii? The obamas have taken more vacations in the last four years, at the taxpayers expense (this latest one estimated to cost us $4 million), then most of us will take in our lifetime. That is the root of the problem, obama is never around to TRY to lead this country out of the problems, i.e. debt, that he has created. The rot starts at the top.
Beth-actually Obama has taken less vac's than most Presidents before him, in his first 3 years he took 80 days but Bush in his first 3 yrs took 180 days, in fact, Bush took over 1000 days during his 8 yrs. And as for cost, that is beyond his control since it is required that sec ser. and many others go with him, as he is always available and always the President. Dont believe me, dont care- look it up yourself or not, as your hate and disrespect for him is obivous-IMO
Yes but Bush's vacations were usually to Texas or Martha's vineyard which I'm quite sure cost much less than going to Hawaii twice in ten days or Indonesia or flying Moochelle and all of her friends to Spain.
maninfla1 You seem to be very good at spouting facts but not the truth. Yes Bush spent more days away from DC than Obama but if you take out the time that both spent either at Camp David or their homes then Obama has been on far more true "Vacations".
I am SICK of the spending done by this President!
He was the senator from IL - how many vacations has he taken to IL - 2 - and one was a friends wedding. How many to Hawaii - 5.
Leadership starts at the top and we are getting what we asked for....go Barry go, lead us to the promised land!
double d,jarhead- you make it sound like since Bush went to the Ranch or Camp David (and he spent more time at the ranch)he wasnt really on vacation and thats true to a point since the President is always the President and needs to be available then the same has to be true for Obama, he may be in Hi. but he is still the President and if you think Bush being on vac for around 32 months of his 8 yrs is equal to Obama taking less than 6 mos in four years- than there is nothing else to say here, as you apparently dislike President Obama and resent him taking time off. and as for the cost of Obama's vac (and i have seen comments on here of upwards of 7 mill. as the amount just seems to keep going up) there were also costs for Bush, it just wasnt picked up on, i guess there were fewer Dems who didnt hate Bush as opposed to all the hate spewed from the right_IMO
While honest hard working Americans wake up today and go to work...
Obama starts this year the same way he ended last year, ON VACATION.
Pathetic.
I go back to work today, my taxes are raised AND the buffoon in the White House returns to his vacation. There is something wrong with this picture. What's wrong is actually that I get up and to to work at all! I should be sitting down and holding out MY hand.
Now if we can keep him out of Washington for the next 4 years...........................
7 million dollars to go back to Hawaii. Typical for this turd who has never had a real job.
That turd has never CREATED A JOB EITHER!!!!And never will on vacation
The guy who almost lost any deal is going back to Hawaii. Most of us wish he would stay there. Congrats to Biden and McConnell who know how the system works and made the deal. Now Obama will screw around with stupid issues for 59 days and create another last minute crisis in February. This imaginary fiscal cliff was all media and politics. If we don't start today addressing our debt this country will truly be in big trouble. Obama was elected to lead. Something he doesn't know how to do. He should be starting today with meetings to address the major crisis, our debt. He works hard appearing on late night talk shows and trying to be like the Hollywood crowd so maybe he does need a vacation. I like to know how may Americans have had a vacation over the past four years. I'm sure its truly a large minority.
The Man of the Year gets tired you know...
All that campaigning and spending really beats you down.
So, after all this crap about the fiscal cliff and the rush to get this done, did Obama actually sign the bill? Or did he just fly back to Hawaii because his vacation is more important than the problems facing our nation? And what exactly did he accomplish while he was here? He had a couple of meetings where he refused to compromise, which failed to get anything done as far as getting a bill to a vote in either the house or the senate.
He ended up sending in his VP to do the hard work, and that is what finally got the 2 sides to sit down and get something done. All you kool-aid drinkers out there on the dem side may be willing to blindly give the president all the credit, but the rest of us are not so easily fooled by Mr. Obama.
obama the Pathetic POS, go on another vacation... What a complete JOKE . Nothing accomplished! Thats for the next guy to worry about. What another 1000 rounds of golf.. and a nice pension...Why should he care. He has enough dumb @$$es believing in his bullship.. What a Pathetic country this has turned into. How about NOT coming back ...USELESS destoyer of a country.
Hope the dam plane goes down like Amelia and we NEVER hear of the bastard again!
Wishing death on the Pres is not cool whether you agree with him or not. Hope you enjoy the authorities at your door asking you a few "questions" if God forbid something should happen to the Pres. Hope I'm there to have a hearty laugh at your foolish butt.
All the MSN democrats musta went on vacation with him. They are not here to defend his heiness whose done NOTHING for our country. Hows the stability working out in Iraq and why isn't anyone upset that Afgan soldiers are still murdering our soldiers every day? Unemployment? oh thats right we just pay em another 80% for the next 4 years while he sits in Hawaii and waiting on his next basketball pickup game! Never has there been a worse United states President!
United states DOA. The game is about up!
And why shouldn't the president have vacations. His is a 24/7 job trying to keep dumb ass Americans from shooting themselves in the foot daily and trying to keep the world economy from imploding. If anyone deserves lots of vacations - He does.
You gotta be kidding, 24-7 BS, he is the most do nothing we have had to date
Cat - He doesn't deserve six vacations a year. Thats how many on average he's taken since he took office. 6 per year. And this list doesn't even cover anything for the last 11 months.
-- President’s Day 2012, Michelle and the first daughters in Aspen, Colorado to ski.
-- Christmas 2011, the first family in Hawaii for an extended vacation.
-- Summer 2011, in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., for the annual beach break.
-- June 2011, the first lady, her mother and daughters traveled to South Africa and Botswana.
-- President’s Day 2011, the first lady and first daughters travel to Vail to ski.
-- Christmas 2010, in Hawaii.
-- August 2010, the first family traveled to Panama City Beach, Fla., for some sun and fun at the beach.
-- August 2010, Obama spent the weekend alone in Chicago for his 49th birthday bash.
-- August 2010, the first lady and daughter Sasha traveled to Spain for a mother-daughter vacation.
-- August 2010, summer vacation again at Martha’s Vineyard.
-- July 2010, the first family went to Mount Desert Island, Maine.
-- May 2010, the first family had a four-day trip to Chicago.
-- March 2010, first lady and daughter spend Spring Break in New York City.
-- Christmas 2009, Hawaii again for the annual break.
-- August 2009, at Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon for a short vacation.
-- August 2009, their first summer vacation as first family at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
imagoodshot, you certainly have a lot of time to hate and catalog the Presiden't movements. Several of the dates you mention don't even include the President at all.
Do you work on your vacations or your time off? Do you make decisions that affect the entire country and the world? The President does and he deserves his vacations.
Stop being such a whiner. If you put all of that energy into something constructive, you might be able to improve yourself.
fielden- I co-own and run a small business with my spouse. We each work 6 days a week 65-70 hours per week. I love my job. By Democratic standards I am a millionaire. But truth be known as a married couple our combined bring home pay is less than 80,000. a year, before taxes. I have 10 full-time employees that get paid vacations, bonuses, and their health care paid for by my company. My spouse and I have taken 1 week of vacation in 12 years so I guess you could say I do work on my time off. We have quadrupled the sized of our business in the 10 years since we opened( and yes, we did that) by putting most of the profits back into the company. So, I would say we are quite productive. But you are correct about one thing, There is not one waking moment that I do not feel disdain for the "President" and what he has done to the country that I love.
does seem a bit excessive to take all that time off while accoplishing so little.
Why isn't he in Chicago. Isn't that his "hometown"? Forget about his vacations, what about his "dates" with his wife to NYC. Those cost more than my house..cars..and everything else......
He doesn't go to Chicago because there were 532 murders there in 2012
but they have such good gun control there. gun control=tight 6 shot groups
This is not about how many vacations this so called leader has taken. This is about his incompetency and inability to lead without spending more money and attempting to create permanent solutions. He has failed the grade in every endeavor during his 7 plus years of empty campaign rhetoric, which seems to continue after he won his second term. Stop the blame game already! If anyone can perform basic mathematics, they can see his plans only cause more pain for the working people of this country. As our food and fuel prices continue to rise, and now our medical costs out of pocket also create havoc for those already on the brink, there should be no praise for him or the other clowns in D.C..
Get real readers and stop falling prey to the idiocies of Obama and the rest of this crew. As for vacation, in my time if I had to cut a vacation short to meet my responsibilities, I could or would not be jumping back on a plane to finish the vacation. There is much to be done, yet Barrack seems to believe he in entitled, like the many folks he continues to carry on the Free ride he has given them while tightening the reins on the American People.
Very well stated across the board! No hate just honest facts that this President does not work unless it's through his wallet! He has not even attempted to work across party lines as Romney promised he would! He uses us as political propaganda
Bran and Mike, you are wrong. His whole reason for coming back to Washington after Christmas was to work across party lines.
If hate is all you've got...
Correction fieldon:
Biden worked across party lines, Obama retruned to the task at hand, Hawaii.
If hope is all you have...
Yeah, just love it, everyone will have to fork over more $$$$ for all the ridiculous spending and continuing programs that are just "enablers". People who have worked hard all their lives, are putting children through college, trying to have the American Dream of home ownership and people on fixed incomes will be hit! Yeah, that will just help everyone....so hop back on your 747 and go sit in the sun in beautiful Hawaii Mr. President....and then think of 100 different ways to enjoy all the festivities of your 2nd term inugurational parties. If you truly had compassion or cared a "wit" about our country there would be NO VACATION, nor EXPENSIVE PARTIES, until our country is on an even keel about getting the economy back, ending two wars, and stopping violence across the land. NO, you go ahead and have another Mai Tai! STOP SPENDING and FUNDING YOUR ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS. That is how you curb the deficiet. Then go back and trim other areas....maybe a hosuewife on a budget could balance the books! Try living wihin the means. We do it every day. Just do without. How easy is that!
I love how republicans love to concentrate all the wealth in the hands of the very few at the top, and simply hopes it trickles down, but when it is time to cut they love to start cutting at the bottom. Typical republican- inconsistent and hypocritical on everything.
All rich people do is hoard money. Once a person has met all their basic needs and obtained a few luxuries there is very little they really need above that. That is why it is always better to have as much money in the hands of the poor and middle class as possible. It takes all the money they have to cover their basic needs with a little left over to splurge on non-necessities if they are lucky. It is their spending that drives this economy and creates demand which translates into jobs.
A rich person can only have so many houses and so many cars and toys and 10,000 dollar purses- and a rich person can never provide to the economy the same economic impact of putting more money into the pockets of millions of people instead. It is a numbers game. If the rich spent a bigger percentage of the wealth that they do have then they can keep claiming with some validity that they create jobs. As it stands their claim is a bold faced lie and they know it. It is always to their benefit to lay people off and make those that remain simply work harder and harder doing the work of two for the pay of one- so the wealthy can keep more profits for themselves. The wealthy create jobs very reluctantly and only after the middle class spends every dime they have to buy their products and make them feel they can afford to hire without their profits going down even by one penny.
Instead of concentrating more and more money into the hands of a few- the stagnant wages of the middle class need to be increased. If the wealthy were as smart as they pretend to be they would know that giving decent salaries and raises to their employees instead of cutting their pay or freezing it is the ticket to a robust recovery. All the rich care about is getting on the Forbes list of Millionaires and Billionaires. Republicans need to go shove it.
Today the president took a step toward wrestling this country from the destructive jaws of some of the more egregiously greedy SOB's who want prosperity for themselves only and no one else.
In closing I would like to say that not all the rich are greedy and many understand that their prosperity is tied to us having a strong, well educated, well paid middle class- unfortunately their voices are often drowned out by the nut jobs.
Every job I've ever had has been working for a wealthy person...
Somebody who has built a business on their own, nurtured and grown it, and has had the good business sense to suceed.
Why are you so he77 bent on penalizing someone who has suceeded?
Entitlement and re-distribution of wealth are not American Ideals azzhole.
Great deal. Higher taxes, higher spending and another all expense paid vacation. You can't ask for more.
After all why let doing your job screwing over the American people get in the way of an uber luxurious, spare no expense vacay. Man, he sho do know how to spend some money.
Michelle to Barry "Anything new back home?"
Barry "Nah, just saved the world again, Where did I put my golf clubs?"
The President is right back spending our money. Trip to cost $4 mil. Now $6 mil. Saving Money. Maybe he
can bring back a load of pineapple and sell at his produce stand to cut costs.