$228,288.00 per hour...

Ever wonder how much it costs to operate Air Force One? You know, that super-special Boeing 747-200B that Barry Obama flies around on while pretending to run the Country? That really, really big airplane with more than 4,000 square feet of cabin space?  That really, really expensive airplane, the very most expensive in the entire world, that you and I own and we just let him use?  For just a little while more? Ever wonder about that?

The answer is $228,288.00 per hour!  That includes the plane, the fuel, the crew and the monogrammed paper napkins, each emblazoned in gold with the Presidential Seal. Not sure, but at that price it must be 24k gold. 

It does not include the cost of maintenance and repair of the plane, or the Secret Service detail, usually comprising a couple of dozen at least.  The cost of that is a secret.  Or something.

It also does not include the cost of a second 747, identical to Air Force One in every way, which flies everywhere the primary plane flies, a minute or so behind it, so that a Bad Guy with a Stinger missile, bent on causing havoc, won't know which one to shoot at. The cost of that has not been reported, but must cost about the same as the one transporting the Prez, given that they're carbon copies. 

And it doesn't include the cost of a cargo transport plane which ferries two Sikorsky helicopters to cart the POTUS around once he arrives at his destination; or a second cargo jet which carries the POTUS limousine, a.k.a., "The Beast," and another one just like it in case the first fails to start, or something.  Or another cargo plane which carries several specially-outfitted SUVs for use by the Secret Service guys and gals.  The cost of all that has not been reported, presumably because it's a secret.  Or something.  

And lastly, it does not include the cost of the White House Communications Team advance party consisting of at least a dozen highly-trained professionals, and their ultra-high-tech gear, which travels to the destination city to hook up all the necessary TV, satellite, radar, radio and other less common forms of data collection and retrieval a few days in advance of the POTUS trip, and then goes back and collects it all once the trip is completed.  And, once again, the cost of all that has not been reported, presumably because it's a secret. Or something.

But no longer.

Due to the indefatigable, unrelenting and ceaseless efforts of the activist Judicial Watch organization, and their issuance of Freedom of Information Requests at a machine gun pace, we now know what it costs each time B. Hussein Obama puts a Johnson & Murphy-shod foot inside the cabin of Air Force One.  Examples?  Sure...

  -  The total price for the flight to Honolulu for the Obama 2012-2013 annual Christmas vacation cost you and me, the put-upon taxpayers of this once-great nation, $4,086,355.20.

  -  The outbound flight to California in August for Obama to show his face at a fundraiser with DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, and to then appear on the "Tonight Show," cost taxpayers $1,209,926.40.  The return flight to Washington was $935,980.80.  The total cost for flight operations alone was $2,145,907.20.  

  -  The outbound flight to Martha's Vineyard for the Obama family August vacation cost taxpayers $890,323.20.  The cost of the return flight to Foggy Bottom was $1,164,288.80. Why it should cost $275,000 more to fly back from Masssachusettts than it cost to fly there in the first place is a question that's begging to be asked. Maybe they flew around in circles taking selfies for an hour or so.

We're told that Barry's recent trip to Florida to play a couple of rounds of golf with Tiger Woods set up back more than $2,000,000.  And a recent trip to Palm Springs to play some golf and look for a nice little pad in which to retire cost us at least $4,000,000. Recent data indicates that the total cost of all 51 of Barry's vacations, so far, is approaching $100,000,000.  Those are some seriously expensive vacations, my friends.

We are, of course, still in the dark as to how much all those other little items (helicopters, limos, Secret Service, Commo Team, etc.) costs us, but it's certainly several million dollars more for each and every trip.  But hey, we now know more than we did before.

Oh yeah, last Tuesday Barry and Hil(liar)y flew on our airplane to North Carolina so they could do a joint appearance at a campaign rally.  Nice.  Do you wonder who paid for that little trip?  The Clinton campaign says, "It would cover its portion of the costs."  And, of course, Barry's folks said that the Democrat National Committee would cover "...its portion of the costs."  But, due to rules in effect since 2010, the cost of using Air Force One for purely electioneering purposes is the same as chartering a 737, or a little over $11,000 an hour.  Why a 737 when we're talking about a tarted-up 747? Even a 747 can be chartered for a bit over $23,000 per hour.  Why don't they at least use the cost of renting the same size plane?  Don't know.  Seems a bit odd to me. How about you?  Me thinks advantage of us is now being taken.  Well, duh!

So we know that when Barry is flying around on our airplane and campaigning for what half of the Country really really doesn't want, we, the taxpayers, are paying well over 90% of the cost.

Sorry to ruin what's left of your otherwise wonderful day...