Richard Tafoya
Feb 23rd, 2009, 04:28 PM
Politico:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19184.html
Obama was trying for a more bipartisan approach, presiding over an extraordinary session where he took questions and comments directly from lawmakers. He started the proceedings by calling on his presidential rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who questioned why the new presidential helicopters cost as much as Air Force One.
“I don’t think there is any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers enormous amounts of money,” McCain told Obama.
Obama quickly agreed, saying he’d ordered a review of the program, whose cost has soared form $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. “The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” the president said to laughter. “Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. Maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it.”
...
In his opening remarks, Obama returned several times to criticism of past budget practices that clearly was aimed at President George W. Bush’s administration, suggesting the former president and his team weren’t candid with the American people about the scope of the budget difficulties.
At one point, Obama criticized “the casual dishonesty of hiding irresponsible spending with clever accounting tricks, the costly overruns, the fraud and abuse, the endless excuses. This is exactly what the American people rejected when they went to the polls. They sent us here to usher in a new era of responsibility in Washington, to start living within our means again and being straight with them about where their tax dollars are going.”
Obama also made clear that he believe he was inheriting the current budget mess from Bush — even though roughly a quarter of the $1.3 trillion deficit stems directly from Obama’s recently economic stimulus package.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19184.html
Obama was trying for a more bipartisan approach, presiding over an extraordinary session where he took questions and comments directly from lawmakers. He started the proceedings by calling on his presidential rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who questioned why the new presidential helicopters cost as much as Air Force One.
“I don’t think there is any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers enormous amounts of money,” McCain told Obama.
Obama quickly agreed, saying he’d ordered a review of the program, whose cost has soared form $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. “The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” the president said to laughter. “Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. Maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it.”
...
In his opening remarks, Obama returned several times to criticism of past budget practices that clearly was aimed at President George W. Bush’s administration, suggesting the former president and his team weren’t candid with the American people about the scope of the budget difficulties.
At one point, Obama criticized “the casual dishonesty of hiding irresponsible spending with clever accounting tricks, the costly overruns, the fraud and abuse, the endless excuses. This is exactly what the American people rejected when they went to the polls. They sent us here to usher in a new era of responsibility in Washington, to start living within our means again and being straight with them about where their tax dollars are going.”
Obama also made clear that he believe he was inheriting the current budget mess from Bush — even though roughly a quarter of the $1.3 trillion deficit stems directly from Obama’s recently economic stimulus package.