Originally Posted by
** PICKS
You numbers are complete fabrication, bush didnt spend taxpayer money recklessly like obama has either, obama campaigns on the taxpayer dime which is illegal.
"From January 1 through May 31, 2004, the President racked up 75 visits within 29 states. Of these 75 visits, 56% have been to swing states."
For Obama(source later):
"From the day he filed for re-election through April 9, Obama had taken 58 domestic trips, including 23 that involved political fundraising. Seventeen of those fundraising trips also included official events."(Obama filed for relection back in April of 2011 btw).
and then:
"Even when the White House deems a trip as political, the cost to Bush's campaign is minimal. In such instances, the campaign must only pay the government the equivalent of a comparable first-class fare for each political traveler on each leg, Federal Election Commission guidelines say."
"he campaign repaid White House Airlift Operations at least $512,000 from May 2003 through April 2004, including reimbursements for political travel by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, first lady Laura Bush and political aides."
Lets see about Obama:
"For political trips benefiting his own campaign, Obama's team repays the government for air travel under a formula that's based on what it would cost to charter a Boeing 737 for a comparable trip, according to the White House. Obama's campaign doesn't have to pay the full cost for a chartered plane, though. It pays a reduced amount based on the number of people aboard Air Force One who were traveling for political reasons. That number excludes Secret Service agents and other support staff who always travel with the president."
"David Mason, a former FEC chairman, said the new rules - linking reimbursement amounts to charter air rates rather than commercial airfare - require the Obama campaign to pay significantly more than it would have under the old rules." (the old rules that Bush followed).
"
When President George W. Bush was running for re-election in 2004, his campaign and the Republican Party reimbursed the White House more than $1.3 million for "airlift operations," an Associated Press review of federal data shows. Those include itemized expenses for "in-flight services," like food and catering, and the president's helicopter, Marine One.
With the 2012 general election more than six months away, Obama already has exceeded that amount. Since late 2010, a separate Democratic Party "travel offset" account has paid roughly $1.5 million for similar expenses, according to FEC reports. And there can be considerable lag time between when political travel occurs and when reimbursements show up in campaign filings, so more payments are sure to be in the pipeline."
What a shock, your assertions about how Bush didn't campaign on the taxpayers dime like Obama is complete bullshit.