British Newspaper Criticizes Obama's Trip to India Saying "Not Since Days of Pharoahs" Has a Head of State Traveled in such Pomp

So, President Barack Obama takes a trip to India and all hell breaks loose. Many are criticizing him from traveling in opulence, as though he should check into a Holiday Inn or another budget hotel overseas. The fact that the White House reportedly booked the entire Taj Mahal Palace Hotel has rankled some on the right. Isn't this the same hotel that was the target of terror attacks by Pakistani militants in 2008, that left 166 dead? So, the right wouldn't mind President Obama meeting a similar fate, am I correct? If anything, the issue I have with the trip is the timing and the fact that yes, it may be a little over-the-top, but didn't other presidents travel in style as well at our expense? How come the outrage now? The U.K. Daily Mail is leading the charge in criticizing President Obama and the right is just loving this. Here's an excerpt from the U. K. Daily Mail:

Probably not since the days of the Pharaohs or the more ludicrous Roman Emperors has a head of state travelled in such pomp and expensive grandeur as the President of the United States of America.

While lesser mortals – the Pope, Queen Elizabeth and so on – are usually happy to let their hosts handle most of the security and transport arrangements when they venture beyond their home shores, the United States creates a mini-America on the move to ensure that nothing is left to chance.

Obama arrives in India at the start of a ten-day tour of Asia. At the heart of the White House caravan is ‘The Beast’, a gigantic, ‘pimped-up’ General Motors Cadillac which security experts say is, short of an actual battle tank, probably the safest road vehicle on the planet.

But an outlandish car is only the start. Mr Obama will fly, of course, on Air Force One, the presidential private jumbo jet, which, boasting double beds and suites, is fitted out more like a luxury yacht. Some reports suggest it costs around $50,000 (£31,000) an hour to operate.

On land, as well as The Beast, Mr Obama’s entourage will travel in a fleet of 45 U.S.-built armoured limousines, half of which will be decoys.He will also travel with 30 elite sniffer dogs, mostly German Shepherds.

Personally, I think President Obama should be protected to the fullest extent possible. After all, being in India and anywhere in that region isn't the same as a Club Med vacation. There are terrorists running loose all over the region. Wasn't President George W. Bush disrespected and nearly assaulted by a shoe-thrower in Iraq? Wasn't there a extremist attack on the Green Zone shortly after Vice President Joe Biden departed the area during a recent trip to Iraq? Some of the comments following the Daily Mail article are downright mean-spirited and plain ugly. Here's a sampling:

You want them, KEEP THEM. What a disgrace to the American Taxpayer, and the hundreds of thousands of unemployed in this country.
- ftk45, Las Cruces USA, 5/11/2010 14:31

Hi Ftk!

If only it were hundreds of thousands unemployed, instead of 15 million. As well as 41.5 million of Americans on food stamps. He is trying to collapse the system on purpose so "they" can start a new world order. This includes George Soros. Scary shi*! I hope it is not too late to turn this ship around by the republicans. Pray, pray, pray! Everyone on earth should be terrified of a global economic meltdown, which starts with China telling us they will not be buying anymore of our bonds. I am an educated level headed person who does a lot of research and typically does not listen to the sky is falling claims. I am so worried that I went shopping and purchased a gun, lots of water and 100 cans of non perishable food items. I also took my money out of the bank. I sure hope I am wrong!

- CMS, U.S.A, 06/11/2010 21:49
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Who does he think he is? The Queen of England? I hope he picks up our mangoes that Bush traded for all our nuclear secrets.

- XPIOLT, Pulaski, NY, 06/11/2010 21:46

I am ashamed that my fellow citizens fell for this liar's lies. His wife claims to finally be proud of the country, but they make me ashamed of it. May God help us get back some common sense. My apologies to the world. This man does not represent what the US stands for.

- Paul B., NY, US, 06/11/2010 21:43

A contrived junket to cover a $2Billion vacation for Sasha and Milia to see the Festival of Lights. These communists live splendidly on our confiscated wealth.

- WilliamPenn, Pennsylvania, 06/11/2010 21:43

the obama presidency: the price america pays for its embarassing political correctness in the voting booth november 2008.

- bing bong, mesa, arizona, 06/11/2010 21:40


You Europeans like him so much. You can have him.

- Kenneth Wright, Santa Anna , Texas, 06/11/2010 21:37

What's funny is that most of the commenters are from the U.S. and it just shows how much some people hate President Barack Obama for no other reason than the color of his skin. I know people said a lot of mean things about his predecessor, but it seems the hatred is magnified tenfold when it comes to President Obama. Never mind the fact that he announced the purchase of 33 737 planes from Boeing by India's SpiceJet Airlines and the fact that the Indian military plans to purchase aircraft engines from General Electric, for example. Don't get me wrong, the economic conditions in the U.S. are fragile and worrisome at best, but what else should President Obama have done? Fly Delta to India?