title: THE TOTAL COST TO TAXPAYERS FOR MOOCH’S EUROPEAN VACATION IS SICKENING
text: And they re heading to Cape Cod next! Where does it end with these people? The optics of this are just awful! We have HUGE national debt and so many Americans are suffering yet Mooch takes a glam European vacation under the guise of a  goodwill  trip.  The Obama women s goodwill tour of Italy and England is costing taxpayers in excess of between $547,000-$700,000, government records and estimates indicate. That amount includes the cost of flying first lady Michelle Obama, her mother and her two daughters to London, Milan, Vicenza and Venice, and the lodging costs incurred throughout the six-day trip. It doesn t including rental vehicles for the first family s females, their staffers, and their security details. It also doesn t include the cost of Secret Service protection and the  advance  trips the White House authorized ahead of time to lay the journey s groundwork and scout secure locations for the VIPs to visit and stay.The Obamas   minus the president   landed in Venice on Friday for a two-night hotel stay at a total cost to taxpayers of $128,781 for the whole traveling party, according to a State Department contract issued this month. Assuming the lodging costs in Milan and London were comparable, the accommodations for five of the six overnights will come to $321,952. A separate State Department contract for a more modest $7,703 covers last night s stay in Vicenza, Italy, near a U.S. Army Garrison where the Obamas visited with troops. Some of the travelers undoubtedly stayed on the military base at no cost, but others   likely support staff   were housed in the nearby town. The resulting $329,655 estimate for hotel bills is barely half the overall cost, however. The Obamas are traveling on a U.S. Air Force C-32A aircraft, flying to London, Milan, Vicenza and Venice, and then home again   a total of 19 hours and 40 minutes of flying time, commercial aviation guides indicate.The Pentagon charges other government agencies at least $11.092 per flight-hour to operate that aircraft, including fuel costs, according to the Defense Department s latest reibursement tables. That means the flights alone cost the Executive Office of the President   operated with taxpayer dollars   about $218,142. Together with the hotel costs, Mrs. Obama s trip with her mother and her daughters cost at least $547,797.  Secret Service details aren t cheap either,  advised a State Department official who spoke on background. The official has experience approving logistics for overseas delegations.  State arranges the travel and DOD [Department of Defense] books the planes, but the security detail probably costs 10 grand a day,  the source said.  And then there s rental cars, and advance trips, and people to staff the first lady, and all sorts of other costs. Don t forget: Everyone has to eat. OY VEY!!!!Read more: DAILY MAIL