Sasha And Malia Vacation: Criticism For Obama Spring Break; Why?

Sasha and Malia Obama vacationed at Paradise Island recently, drawing criticism over the timing of the event. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was a guest on the "Mickelson in the Morning" radio program when a guest named Carla made the point that Sasha and Malia vacationed at the same time their father was spreading alarmism regarding possible economic fallout from the sequester.

Congressman King agreed with the caller that the sequester cuts, covered here by the Latin Times, and President Barack Obama's words of warning seemed to be ignored by members of his own family.

"Carla, you're on point," King replied. "That was our expense too ... [they went] to one of the most expensive places [in the Bahamas]. That is the wrong image to be coming out of the White House."

Sasha and Malia's vacation, as Mike Krumboltz of Yahoo reported, was funded by the Obama family, but that their security and other costs are defrayed by the taxpayers. In the wake of the 2 percent cut on an increase in federal spending, President Obama has decided to curtail White House tours and close down air traffic control towers. But, at the same time, little attention is paid to the travels of his family.

Malia Obama's 2012 spring break trip to Mexico cost taxpayers over $100,000.

On the subject of Sasha and Malia's vacations, conservative journalist Sean Hannity interviewed former Obama Economic Adviser Austan Goolsbee on Tuesday, asking Goolsbee what he thought of Obama's daughters vacationing in the Caribbean.

Goolsbee noted that Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, spent over 1,000 days on "vacation," which Hannity pointed out was often at Bush's ranch in Texas, a place where White House business could be and was still conducted per usual. Hannity and others point out that the Bahamian venture was just the latest in a series of trips domestic and abroad, including multiple trips to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., as well as Obama's home state of Hawaii.

In addition to Sasha and Malia's vacations, Vice President Joe Biden drew moderate criticism for a trip to Europe that cost over $450,000. Critics say Biden should have opted for something other than the five-star Hyatt Regency London during tough economic times for the rest of the nation.