From james Wliims in the Boston Globe:
The [Paris] trip has raised eyebrows among government watchdog groups, particularly since it comes so soon after the Obama's pricey "date night" jaunt to New York - the president called it fulfilling a campaign promise - and in the midst of what Obama himself has called the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
One public interest group notes that the White House still hasn't disclosed expenses from the Manhattan trip - estimated to be about $30,000 - and argues that the public should get a full accounting of a "flashy" European vacation.
Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, said that because Obama has such a demanding job, few would begrudge him some presidential perks - as long as he doesn't completely indulge himself on the taxpayer's dime. The problem, she said, is that Obama has not made his expenses public, and thus is failing to keep his pledge to run an open, transparent government.
"I doubt we'll see the true cost of the trip to Paris," Paige said. Not keeping his promise "has been a disappointment, to say the least," she added. . . .
While it's important to keep the trip in perspective because "there are a lot of big-ticket items like healthcare that will be a lot more important in the long run," Paige said, Obama might have thought twice about taking such a high-profile family vacation.
"He's under a microscope," perhaps more than any president in modern history, Paige said, and modesty will go a long way.
"Maybe he could be more austere," she added, "with a little less flash, and a little more transparency."
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