WTF? Part III

More Obama belt-tightening:

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are both traveling to Copenhagen this week to promote Chicago's bid to host to the 2016 Olympic Games--and they will be making the 3,979-mile trip on separate airplanes.

The first lady left on Tuesday night, while the president will leave for Denmark on Thursday night.

Taxpayers will pick up the tab for both jets ferrying the president and first lady separately to Europe...

The White House announced on Monday that the president would be joining his wife on this European trip, despite indicating earlier this month that the first lady would head up the U.S. Olympic Committee delegation to Copenhagen while Obama remained in the United States to continue pushing for his health care reform plan.

Back on Sept. 11, the White House announced that the first lady would travel to Denmark but not the president...

As reported earlier by CNSNews.com, a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report cited two cost estimates for an hour of air travel by the president, vice president and first lady. One estimate comes from the White House Military Office, the other from the U.S. Air Force.

Using the CRS cost estimates and the inflation adjuster from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost for the one-way 7.5-hour trip from Washington, D.C. to Copenhagen on the first lady's plane would range from $29,532 (White House Military Office) to $107,717 (U.S. Air Force).

The cost for the president to fly Air Force One on the one-way 7.5-hour trip from Washington, D.C. to Copenhagen ranges from $343,448 (White House Military Office) to $567,089 (U.S. Air Force).

When asked by CNSNews.com why the president decided to travel to Copenhagen, a White House spokesman said Obama did not think the short trip abroad would harm his efforts to promote health care reform.

“The president decided to make the brief trip to Copenhagen when it became clear that he could do so without negatively affecting his efforts on health care and the other important challenges facing this country,” spokesman Joshua Earnest told CNSNews.com...

Also joining the president and first lady on the two planes are Chicagoans Oprah Winfrey, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

No word as to whether these Chicago representatives would also be there pitching the city: link