Obama Sequester Priorities: White House Tours Cancelled; Everything Else as Scheduled

On Thursday, after watching a video of Iowa school children pleading with the White House to “please let us visit”, Fox New personality Eric Bolling offered to pick up the tab for an entire week of White House tours if the Obama administration would acquiesce.  The plea and the generous offer were in response to the administration’s announcement that all White House tours are cancelled until further notice due to cutbacks resulting from sequestration.   Essentially, the president’s accountants are cool with spending taxpayer dollars on golf outings, lavish dinners, and vacations.  They’re just a little uneasy about paying the seven staffers that facilitate “self-guided” tours of the Executive Mansion.  Truth be told, the tours are the only cuts the White House has made to date…

From TPM:

“Make you a deal. Jay Carney, grab a pencil. Let the families take the White House tours next week and I’ll cover the added expenses. The word is it’ll cost around $74,000. If I can get the White House doors open, I will pick up the tab. Mr. Carney, you know this is an offer you can’t refuse. Give me a call.”

Nothing?  But yet cutting White House tours rose to a Day 1 priority?

But wait.  It gets better.

Compare the savings from cutting White House tours with other expenditures the Obama administration deems necessary…

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer echoed that Senator Sessions…

From NEWSBUSTERS:

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Back to the Iowa school children and their planned visit to “The People’s House”….

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Chris at Wyblog asks the million (or in this case $74,000) question.  If these kids had made a video begging for more gun control, would the president be turning them away? - Maybe only children who are useful props can visit the Dear Leader’s White House.

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Bolling’s offer may be contagious.  (via Maggie’s Notebook)

Bolling and Hannity have the first two weeks… anyone out there in Lefty-land wanna bet against several more weeks being picked up by deep pockets on the Right if the White House was willing to go along with this?

But I think we all know that’s not going to happen – the White House going along part, that is.  To do so would be damaging to the administration on three fronts: 1) The President’s “war on Fox News” would take a major hit –  both Bolling and Hannity are Fox News personalities… end of story;  2) Letting private sectors players demonstrate to the American People that private charity can be far more targeted, effective, and efficient than the federal government would fly in the face of everything the president believes in; 3) Re-opening White House doors to visitors would overturn the cornerstone of the president’s “You’re going to feel the sequester” strategy.  To date, it is the only sequester-related “real world” consequence being felt or noticed.

Like I said, we all know Bolling’s offer is going to fall on deaf ears at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  While I’m certain the president or his spokesman Jay Carney will be pressed about the offer(s), the tours will no doubt remain “cancelled” until further notice.  And by “further notice”, I do mean until the president sees an opportunity to capitalize politically on once again rolling out the red carpet for the People that truly pick up the tab.

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