" According to something said in one of the articles or comments regarding Bush's visit to the Napa Valley, the White House doesn't reimburse states and local government for law enforcement expenses.

Given the fund-raising nature of the event earlier Friday evening, send the bill to the Republican National Committee. If they don't pay it, send it to the McCain Campaign. Our state and local tax dollars SHOULD NOT be going to support a partisan event like the Bush reception at Harlan Wine Estates!!! "

" msetty...and who paid for the police when Obama came to the state? "

" using law enforcement to protect the president should be automatic and shared by all communitties he visits.when areas in need of disaster relief are visited does anyone ask who pays for those? "

" Stop, msetty, you're making too much sense.

Strange that all these commenters who gripe constantly when tax dollars go to teachers, nurses and the poor don't mind at all when millions of our dollars are spent so the President can come raise a million bucks for the RNC and John McCain.

Hypocrisy, anyone? "

" This article is about a person meeting a president, not about who paid for him to be here. We all pay for it one way or another. Instead of complaining about a different issue, you should congratulating this man for saving the toddler's life and for helping a newborn baby and it's mother. "

" Very well said Amelia, I share your thoughts as well. "

" msetty... who do you think paid for all the trips the Clintons took to Hollywood in the name of the DNC ..get real "

" Woopdy doo! How splendid, meeting the worst president that ever in the modern era. That's right republicans, even worse than Carter. Here's a little reminder: illegal aliens, demise of the dollar, recession, demise of the middle class, Iraq war, gas prices, world wide hatred, prescription drugs, out of control spending, the vice president (need I say more), political corruption (far worse than Clinton dreamed of), spot market oil, the economy, the environment, and so on. I was a fellow republican until 2004.
btw crusherfan, where do you suggest I move? As a baby boomer born at Kaiser in Vallejo, a citizen by birth lived here my entire life, what other country can I claim as my own? "

" Wow! GetReal it must be miserable getting up everyday with your outlook on life. You certainly rattled off all the DNC talking points for today. If you think this country is in such terrible shape - maybe you should get a passport and try another. If this country is in such lousy shape, why do you think everyone wants to live here??? "

" HappyHomemaker,

I understand that talking about the United States in such away sounds horrifying. But you have to admit that GetReal! is right. It just sounds aweful when it's beeing shoved all at once.

You can't just decide to leave the country because everything is going wrong. That's why people should consider Obama for the 2008 election. It IS time for a change and this change looks like the way to go. If you were talking to me, I wouldn't leave just because the worst president of the United States effe'd up my country. I'm not the one who has to leave. George W. Bush is.

It's about accepting the trtuh, HappyHomemaker.

With all due respect. "

" Did you just wake up from a coma, HHomaker? In case you haven't noticed things are going wrong all over the planet. Economically, as the US goes so goes the world. And yes, I do give a lot of credit to the most powerful man from the most powerful country in the world. He is a complete failure. I'm not a democrat, nor do I have any high hopes for any democrat. But they couldn't do any worse, could they? I notice that you don't dispute the claims I made that this administration is liable for. I don't want to spoil your little dream world, I'm just wondering what it will take for reality to set in. Perhaps when one of your neighbors that can no longer afford to pay for the necessities of life and buy gas pays your happy little home a visit, out of his desperation. Hope not, but don't say you didn't see it coming. "

" The amount of denial by those who still support the President is astounding. Reading the comments on this site you would think, by the proportion of them, that the President was at a 65% approval rating instead of hovering around 25%. I am actually quite fascinated this phenomena of cognitive dissonance:

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this dissonance by modifying an existing belief, or rejecting one of the contradictory ideas.

Often one of the ideas is a fundamental element of ego, like "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." This can result in rationalization when a person is presented with evidence of a bad choice, or in other cases. Prevention of cognitive dissonance may also contribute to confirmation bias or denial of discomforting evidence. If not corrected, this can lead to further bad choices for the sake of consistency, rather than learning from mistakes. "

" I guess it's an honor to meet President Bush. Much in thy.e way it would be an honor to meet the guy who crashed his gasoline tanker-truck and closed the MacArthur Maze interchange, or the captain of the Titanic. Few people are afforded the chance to actually stand in the presence of utter, total mediocrity imbecile destructiveness. "

" You all forgot in your list of misery..Katrina, global warming, bad schools, bridges collapsing, floods, drought, forest fires, potholes, falling sky .. Bush did it all, or was it Cheney, or maybe Karl Rove.
The people in my neighborhood are doing quite nicely. We all bought homes we could actually afford. And as adults, we all learned how to budget our incomes. We aren't sitting around waiting for the government to bail us out or tell us how to run our lives..but thanks for your heartfelt concern. "

" Bauhausfan..Psych 101 - I'm impressed! Maybe you should research the Bush Derangement Syndrome before you impart any more pearls of wisdom to others. "

" Kool-Aid Drinkers like these people astound me. If you really think the president does ANYTHING all by himself and this entire mess is his fault, You're an idiot.

Every swinging "Johnson" in Washington DC shares the blame for the current state of affairs. Republican AND Democrat.

And if you think Obama is gonna be any better...You're delusional. "