Of Bush-bashing and the cost of presidential visits

By Art Morris Jr.

I would like to respond to the opinion letter by Rich Panter, “A wasteful visit from Bush” on July 22, and Michael Luttrell’s “Estimating the costs of Bush visit” on July 23, both examples of the “Everything Bush does is bad” doctrine.

President Bush is just that: the freely-elected president of the greatest nation on earth. As president, he has the right to travel as he wishes and yes, wherever he wishes. The president gets paid a paltry $400k per year, 30 times less than many big oil CEOs. As a member of the Air Force, I was selected to deploy on two presidential support missions. Before this, I had no idea what it took to move the most powerful person in the world. It takes weeks, if not months of planning for a visit. Teams go in weeks before the president arrives to make preparations and sometimes weeks to depart and debrief. Would it be fair for the president to only travel when the liberals deemed it okey-dokey to do so? Should he have to go beg for the keys to the car? Of course not — he’s the president. This brings me to the main point of my letter.

Perhaps Mr. Panter and Mr. Luttrell were too young and ineligible to vote when President Clinton was in office. If not, I’m sure that they would be equally upset by all the visits President Clinton made to the Bay Area during his terms in office. Since I was stationed at Travis Air Force Base I witnessed many Air Force One visits. The joke went: “Clinton’s back in town; he must be running low on money.” Anyway, I did five minutes’ worth of research on his visits and what I found is most interesting. Please enjoy the following tidbits of published news documenting some official presidential travel to California and abroad.

“This report discusses the costs of President Clinton’s 1998 trips to Africa, Chile, and China and executive branch accounting procedures for such expenses. GAO did not look at the travel costs of past presidents because the records were not readily available. Presidential travel abroad requires planning, coordination and logistical and personnel support. The estimated costs of the president’s trips to Africa, Chile and China were at least $42.8 million, $10.5 million, and $18.8 million, respectively. The largest costs consisted of (1) operating the president’s plane and aircraft; (2) travel expenses, including lodging; and (3) telecommunications, vehicle, and other equipment rentals and purchases in the countries visited. The executive branch lacks a single system to account for the cost of presidential travel overseas, and the agencies involved used various methods to account for expenses. The State Department routinely accounts for travel, equipment rental, and other costs to support presidential travel. Other agencies that incurred costs in support of the Africa, Chile, and China trips also had records on their costs.”  From GAO Report, “Presidential Travel: Costs and Accounting for President’s 1998 Trips to China, Chile, and Africa.” Sept. 21, 1999.

“Fresh from his triumphant brokering of a Mideast peace accord, President Clinton seized upon his renewed clout and fundraising muscle yesterday to fire up California Democrats a week before Election Day. From Hollywood to San Francisco, Clinton basked in praise during a flurry of weekend appearances that raised $2 million for incumbent U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and state Democrats.” Carla Marinucci, Chronicle political writer, Oct. 26, 1998.

“President Clinton is certain to claim credit for the good news as he returns to California today for the 29th visit of his presidency, his last before Tuesday’s election.” Marc Sandalow, Chronicle Washington Bureau, Oct. 31, 1996.

“The president’s ninth official trip to California was closely watched for any signs that he would express a preference regarding his support for candidates in the Oct. 7 recall, an all-consuming political drama that has overshadowed even the 2004 presidential race in recent weeks.” Carla Marinucci, Chronicle political writer, Aug. 15, 2003.

This equates to an average of three visits per year for President Bush in his first three years compared to 7.25 visits per year for President Clinton’s first term. You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to figure out who “wasted” more taxpayers’ money on trips to the Golden State.

(Morris lives in Napa.)

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