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What a great role model for the world

First Lady requires more than 20 attendants

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn't perform any official duties. But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary. How things have changed! If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public:

  1. 2,2000 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
  2. 0,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)

  1. 3,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary)

  2. 2,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)

  1. Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

  2. ,000 - Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

  1. ,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)

  2. ,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)

  1. ,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady)

  2. ,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

  1. Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

  2. ,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)

  1. ,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)

  2. Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)

  1. ,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)

  2. ,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)

  1. ,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)

  2. Tubman, Samantha (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)

  1. ,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

  2. ,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)

  1. Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)

  2. Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)

There has never been anyone in the White House at any time that has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady's social life. One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer expense, when even Hillary, only had three; Jackie Kennedy one;

Laura Bush one; and prior to Mamie Eisenhower social help came from the President's own pocket.

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and "First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom travelled aboard Air Force One to Europe .

Copyright 2009 Canada Free Press.Com

canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12652

Reply to
Steve W.
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Aw c'mon, man, it's economic stimulus.

Reply to
Tim Wescott

add up all those wages, less than the missing Sarah Palin Wardrobe - this is pocket change - worry about the big things

Reply to
Bill Noble

I tried to look up information by searching for "michelle obama attendants".

Most articles seem to be verbatim copies of one article, reprinted on Republican blogs. The article does not attempt to be an impartial source of information and reads more like a propaganda piece ("If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution", not how credible news stories are written).

It would appear that the above article is a little mistaken about the number of Laura Bush attendants. Laura Bush had 15 attendants.

formatting link
What Laura Bush?s Staff Earned

McBride, Anita B. Assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady $168,000.00

Harder, Cherie S. Special asistant to the president for domestic policy and director of project of the first lady $108,000.00

Niemiec, Sally M. Press secretary to the First Lady $90,000.00

Miller, Sonja M. Deputy chief of staff to the first lady $84,700.00

Ballard, Deanna M. Director of scheduling for the First Lady $75,000.00

Underwood, Carrie P. Deputy director of policy and projects for the First Lady $65,000.00

Wallace, Charity N. Director of advance for the First Lady $65,000.00

Marshall, Misty C. Director of correspondence for the first lady $59,700.00

Etter, Marisa L. Deputy director of scheduling for the First Lady $50,000.00

King, Kristin N. Deputy director of advance for the first lady $50,000.00

Lineweaver, Lindsey M. Special assistant and personal aide to the first lady $47,500.00

Rawson, Kimberly D. Executive assistant to the chief of staff to the First Lady $46,200.00

Donoghue , Tarah C. Deputy press secretary to the First Lady $43,000.00

Vogel, Campbell B. Deputy director of correspondence for the First Lady $42,500.00

Block, Jonathan F. Assistant press secretary to the First Lady $39,000.00 9. The Mayor Says: August 5th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

I see this as more or less comparable staffs.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus8090

In my humble opinion, there is no such thing any more as credible news.

Reply to
cavelamb

Just what I was fixin' to say, 99% PURE BS

Reply to
Rick Samuel

So does Anita McBride, Laura Bush's former chief of staff. At least, that's what she told ABC News' John Stossel: "McBride says that more staffers are needed as the first ladies' global responsibilities grow. She pointed out that Mrs. Bush traveled to Afghanistan and Africa, advancing President Bush's health program."

It sounds pretty wild and crazy, but it also sounds like it's become the norm.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Of course not. They don't send credible news to Texas. They reserve all of the *incredible* news for you guys.

d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

The story came from CanadaFreePress.com, which I wouldn't count on for anything, but it was confirmed to ABC News by Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Michelle Obama's press secretary, and Anita McBride, former chief of staff to Laura Bush.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

formatting link
Nancy Reagan's Fancy Freebies May Cost the Former First Couple a Pretty Penny in Back Taxes

By Mary H.J. Farrell, Sue Carswell, Katy Kelly, Eleanor Hoover

...

That would suit M. Chris Blazakis. A former fashion executive who has spent the past two years investigating Nancy's dress-capades for a book he is writing on improprieties in the Reagan Administration, Blazakis, 36, went to the IRS in January 1989. "They missed this for eight years," says Blazakis, who has provided the IRS with detailed information about Nancy's clothing and accessories. If the IRS decides the finery=97valued at well in excess of a million dollars=97is taxable, it could really put Nancy in the red. In addition, the designers who supplied her with the dresses=97including Galanos, Adolfo and Bill Blass=97 may be implicated in the IRS mess.

...

The designer clothing may be only part of the story. According to Reagan White House sources, the services of Nancy's hairdresser, Julius Bengtsson, were provided free during her tenure through a special arrangement with Clairol=97which made the hair color she used=97 and cost the company more than $100,000. Exercise equipment valued at $4,000 or more was installed in the Reagan's private quarters free of charge in 1980 and returned in 1988, according to White House sources.

...

Still, it may take more than a tax bill to convince Nancy that she did the wrong thing. "I wonder: What would have happened if I had stopped borrowing dresses and had started wearing only the clothes I could afford to buy?" she asks in My Turn. "Instead of calling me extravagant, the press would have started referring to me as 'dowdy' and 'frumpy.' " And then what would Raisa Gorbachev have said?

Reply to
N Morrison

Do you know 7-15?

Navy version of 10- codes...

Reply to
cavelamb

Nope.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Pity!

Reply to
cavelamb

22 vs. 15 is a 32% increase. You two call that "comparable"?

Yet another way our gov't wastes money.

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Yeah. If it was 14, would you have been happier? I wouldn't. It makes no difference.

It looks like something that's just growing over time, as the First Lady is expected to do more and to be more with each election. I don't particularly like it, but it definitely looks like the trend. Possibly it's worth the investment in terms of international relations. She certainly has given that a shot in the arm.

I continue to get a kick out of the people who get upset over a few million dollars when the issues that are affecting our economy are hundreds of billions, to trillions, to (in the abstract) tens of trillions.

Where is the sense of proportion here? How does this deserve the attention to two keystrokes while the pirates of finance continue to sell derivatives on unconscionable ratios of leverage?

This is so trivial by comparison that it isn't worth noticing.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Well, the original Republican article was foaming at the mouth, saying that Laura Bush had one staffer, and Michelle Obama had

  1. (Apparently, CanadaFreePress.Com edited their article and they no longer say that Laura Bush had only one attendant).

It turned out, much to my surprise, that the Republican article did not tell the truth and Laura Bush has 15 attendants.

I agree that 22 is more than 15, but it does not seem like a dramatic difference to me, compared to 22 vs. one.

A relevant question would be, does our country benefit from this by more than 1.5 million dollars spent on the staff. The answer is not obvious to me.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus26634

As someone once said, a million here, a million there, pretty soon you are talking about real money.

Looks like Parkinsons Law rules. Mamie Eisenhower, as I remember had a staff of three. One of them was a good friend of my sister. What I want to know is where they put all those bodies. They must have enlarged the area for the staff as thirty two would not fit in the single room that housed Mamie's staff.

And although it may be trivial by comparison to other things that outrage us, it still is outrageous.

=20 Dan

Reply to
dcaster

On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:02:33 -0400, the infamous "Ed Huntress" scrawled the following:

Yes, I would. It does make a difference to me. It's an unneccessary waste. Just think how many more doctors the gov't could buy with all that waste snipped out.

Perhaps I've missed that. Citations re: magic mending, please?

If someone comes to your house and turns on the hoses, then shoots your water main, are you going to simply overlook the leaks, or are you going to stop the flow wherever you can whenever you can, Ed?

Again you say "Ignore the gushing bullet holes in your feet. It's your missing hand that's the only problem."

I'm still saying "Let's mend -all- bleeding wounds before any one of them has a chance to kill us."

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:59:18 -0500, the infamous Ignoramus26634 scrawled the following:

And I accepted the 15 shown by Ed(?).

My, aren't you smug now that your Dems are in power? ;)

Well, doh!

Aha! Nor does it to me.

-- If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Reply to
Larry Jaques

If you had TV, I wouldn't have to tell you. Since you don't have TV as a matter of choice, I'll just say that the info is widely known and available. She's done a great deal, along with her husband, to re-build some respect and regard for the US in foreign countries.

You're complaining about some leaky washers while your basement is flooding from a broken pipe. I don't buy into that.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

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