Under Obama, Air Force One cost per hour jumps 27% to $228,288

The president spent over $7.3 million on just three trips in 2013, including $2.1 million to appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in August, according to new flight documents provided by the Air Force to a public watchdog group.

Judicial Watch told Secrets that the sky-high jet travel costs for the first family's 2012-2013 Christmas vacation in Hawaii, their beach vacation on Martha's Vineyard last summer and President Obama's brief trip to California in August totalled $7,396,531.20.

The Air Force said it costs $228,288 an hour to fly Air Force One, a massive $48,535 jump from the last estimate of $179,750, or 27 percent.

The details according to documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act:

— The outbound flight to Honolulu for the Obama 2012-2013 Christmas vacation cost taxpayers $2,214,393.60. The return flight to Washington was $1,871,961.60. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $4,086,355.20.

— The outbound flight to California in August 2013 for Obama to dine with fundraiser and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and appear on the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” cost taxpayers $1,209,926.40. The return flight to Washington was $935,980.80. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $2,145,907.20.

— The outbound flight to Martha’s Vineyard for the Obama family August vacation cost taxpayers $890,323.20. The return flight to Washington was $273,945.60. The total price for flight expenditures alone came to $1,164,268.80.

Getting the documents was a score for Judicial Watch, which has also sought and received Obama administration vacation spending documents from the U.S. Secret Service. Typically, flight costs are not provided. It was also the first authoritative hourly cost provided for operating Air Force One.

“The Obamas are abusing the public trust and the taxpayers with unnecessary luxurious vacations and travel,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These staggering costs show why these documents were covered up and we had to sue in federal court to get them. Another transparency fail for the Obama gang.”

Via: Washington Examiner

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On 'Tonight Show,' Bush and Leno Take Jabs at NBC

Appearing on Tuesday's Tonight Show, former President George W. Bush got a laugh from the audience with this one-liner: "We've always had such great relations with NBC." Host Jay Leno added to the joke by taking his own shot at the network: "I'm glad one of us has." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

The brief exchange was prompted by Leno asking the former commander-in-chief and former First Lady Laura Bush about their daughter, Jenna Bush-Hager, being a correspondent for the Today show: "And Jenna is on the Today show...Is that fun?" Laura Bush replied: "It's fun. It's fun for us. We love to watch her."

At the top of Bush's appearance on the show, he quipped of President Obama now being the target of late-night comics: "Better him than me."

Here is a portion of the exchange aired early on the morning of November 20:

12:24AM ET

(...)

JAY LENO: And Jenna is on the Today show.

LAURA BUSH: Jenna's on the Today show.

LENO: Yeah. Is that fun? Do you-

LAURA BUSH: It's fun. It's fun for us. We love to watch her.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We've always had such great relations with NBC.

LENO: Yeah, there you go.

[LAUGHTER]

I'm glad one of us has.

[LAUGHTER]

(...)

Via: Newsbusters

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Obama Becoming a Punchline, but Obamacare Is No Joke

“The Tonight Show” is a cultural bellwether, so when its studio audience roars its approval at Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) quip that Obamacare is “the biggest job killer in this country,” you know something’s happening across our land.

The truth is now gushing out on the President’s signature legislation, which has become a late-night punchline that not even reliably liberal “Saturday Night Live” or Jon Stewart can keep from satirizing. The fact that fewer than 27,000 people “selected” plans—but didn’t necessarily buy them—on HealthCare.gov in five and a half weeks tells a tale in itself. (We had a little fun with it here.)

Conservatives who sought to defund this law can take pride in taking a stand that is looking better and better with each passing day—one that will not be forgotten. Progressives who shut down the government because they would not compromise are, on the other hand, looking over their shoulders and taking arrows, even from the left.

This is why the President’s approval ratings are at an all-time low, according to an impartial Quinnipiac poll released this week. It said that only 36 percent approve of the President’s job on health care; 38 percent on foreign policy; 32 percent on the economy; and 35 percent on immigration. By a margin of 52 percent to 44 percent, Americans say their President is a dishonest man.

Late-night comedians notwithstanding, Obamacare isn’t funny to the millions losing their insurance after being repeatedly reassured by the President that “if you like your present insurance you can keep it. Period.” For many of those losing their coverage, the options they have are anything but cheap.

Via: The Foundry

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Ted Cruz to Leno: 'What I'm Trying to Do is Do My Job'

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz made his late night television debut Friday, where he and Tonight Show host Jay Leno talked about his opinions on Obamacare, same-sex marriage and his future ambitions.

Leno wasn't easy on the freshman senator, who has become one of the loudest critics of Obamacare, and whose efforts to defund the president's health insurance plan was one of the factors leading to October's partial government shutdown, CNN reports.

 

"Don't believe everything you read," Cruz told Leno, in response to questions about complaints from both Democrats and Republicans that he is "aggressive, arrogant and abrasive."

"What I’m trying to do is do my job,” he said. “And occasionally people don’t like it.”
Cruz, while discussing Obamacare, reiterated his belief that the law is both harmful and destructive, but denied he wants to eliminate health care reform.

"I'm a big believer in health care reform" Cruz told Leno. "I think we ought to reform health care so it's personal, it’s portable, it’s affordable. We ought to empower patients rather than government bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor.”

 

Further, Cruz said he "was not a fan of shutting down the government," to which Leno replied "You looked like a big fan from where I was standing."

Cruz, who is often mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, also defended his controversial father, Rev. Rafael Cruz, a Cuban immigrant who has become a tea party favorite as his son's star began to rise on a national level.

The elder Cruz's many controversial comments, including opposition to same-sex marriage, were brought up on the show, with the senator telling Leno he shares the same opposition with his father, who he often calls his inspiration.

"I support marriage between one man and one woman," said Cruz, noting he believes the decision should be left up to the states.

 

But Cruz also told Leno that people who oppose him often attack his father, mainly because of political reasons.

“Some folks have decided to try to go after him because they want to take some shots at me,” Cruz said. “But I think the critics are better off attacking me. My dad has been my hero my whole life."

Via: Newsmax

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[VIDEO] Leno Tougher on How President 'Lied' About ObamaCare Than NBC Reporters

On Tuesday's NBC Tonight Show, host Jay Leno provided harsher criticism of President Obama falsely claiming that Americans could keep their current health insurance plans under ObamaCare than any of the network's reporters. Leno told the audience: "Well, it's being reported that the President has known for three years that people would lose their coverage. The press is now saying the President lied." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Leno setup a mock defense of Obama: "But today the White House said that's not true. He did not lie. And they released this tape from three years ago to prove it. Here's what he said three years ago." A comically dubbed-over sound bite followed of Obama saying people "cannot" keep their doctors and health insurance.

Today co-host Savannah Guthrie appeared later on the show, but neither her nor Leno made any mention of the disastrous ObamaCare rollout.

NBC's only direct mention of the administration knowing that millions would be kicked off their existing health care plans came during a report on Monday's NBC Nightly News when White House correspondent Peter Alexander provided a mere twenty-one seconds to the network's own scoop.

Tuesday's Today ignored the story, but senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers – who broke the news – did appear on that evening's Nightly News to discuss the fallout from her reporting. However, she never actually repeated the headline, the charge that the White House knew the President's claims about ObamaCare were untrue.
Myers began the segment by explaining: "So far almost 2 million of the 14 million Americans who buy individual coverage have gotten letters that their policy is cancelled or has to change because of the law. Still, the white house insists the President did not mislead Americans when he promised everyone could keep their insurance."

She then highlighted one of those casualties of the new law: "That doesn't sit well with George Schwab who is retired, started a new business, and been told because of the new health care law his current policy is no longer available because it doesn't meet minimum standards. His new policy comes with a premium increase of more than 400%."

Via: Newsbusters

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