end granny or end the war?

[Skjellyfetti]

Why in the **** does a president need 1300-2000 people with him?

Security is a LARGE part of that. Making sure the president is safe isn't easy to do in a foreign country.

[93henfan]

I just saw the CBO's audited numbers for a trip President Clinton took to Africa in 1998. Clinton traveled to 6 countries in 11 days with 1,300 travelers. In 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars, the trip cost $5.2 million per day.

Why in the FUCK does a president need 1300-2000 people with him?

Surely you've seen some of the shows on NatGeo, History, Discovery, etc where they do an in depth look at the crew of Air Force One, or Marine One, or the Secret Service presidential detail and advanced parties? Then add in the White House and State Department staffs, the embedded media, etc. It adds up really fast.

[AZGrizFan]

Well, then I am firmly in the camp of this being a collossal fucking waste of money. Even if it IS "only" $5.2 million/DAY.

They need to come into the fucking '90s and look into video conferencing. As a businessman, if there were something THAT inefficient and THAT costly it'd be gone in a New York minute.

It's no fucking wonder we can't balance our budget.