Just how much did that Hawaii vacation cost?

When campaigning President Obama said the hallmark of his administration would be to have an unprecedented level of openness and transparency. Therefore, the White House should be willing to report to the American taxpayer the number of aircraft, ground equipment and personnel that were moved to Hawaii and housed there in order to support the presidential family on their recent extensive Kailua vacation. The previous excuse for not disclosing this information was to avoid revealing the Secret Service force, so exclude that detail.

The General Accountability Office has 3,300 employees who have the task of investigating how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Maybe several of these workers could be assigned to estimate the cost of yet another Hawaii vacation at a time when the emphasis is on cost-cutting. I am sure that even the most dyed-in-the-wool Democrat would be disgusted when the amount is made public, as it should be.

Gary Sheffert

Arlington Heights