It's good to get away ............. and WE pay for it

President Barack Obama is sending the wrong message with the fact that his family will be enjoying a sunny, 17-day Hawaiian vacation funded in part with U.S. tax dollars while millions of Americans settle for a blue Christmas, critics say.


For example, Dana Perino, who was White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, told “Fox and Friends” Monday morning that the Obama vacation simply looks bad.

“I know that a president always works. They set up the command center and it’s like the national security room,” Perino said. “For me, it is perception — Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii. If you are going to places like that and for 17 days, you are asking for trouble.”

Obama and his family will use their own money to rent a private beach-front residence in Kailua, Oahu, for their vacation. Described as a “Winter White House,” the rental costs up to $3,500 a day or $75,000 a month, according to AOL travel blog Gadling.

But taxpayers probably will kick in more than $1 million to cover the added security and accommodations for the president’s entourage and transportation, based on estimates from Hawaiian media organizations.

Last year, the Hawaii Reporter calculated the taxpayer bill for one Obama vacation in Hawaii to be in excess of $1.5 million — for a running total of about $6 million since the Hawaiian native was elected president.

The Plantation Estate at Paradise Point, where the Obama’s vacation, was featured on the cover of Ocean Home Magazine in the April 2010 issue, according to Gadling.

The 7,000-square-foot rental features “five bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, a media room with surround sound, a kitchen suited for a master chef, a dining room and great room, a secluded lagoon-style pool with tropical waterfalls and a lavish island spa.” The ocean lanai and garden lanai also showcase ornate landscaping and “stunning views” of Kailua Bay and Mount Olomana.

The Honolulu Police Department spent $228,247 for the president's most recent Christmas/New Year's visit, according to the Hawaii Reporter, which noted that city taxpayers have never been reimbursed for $350,000 they spent on police overtime in 2008 and 2009 related to earlier Obama trips.

It costs about $1 million to take Air Force One to Hawaii, and an additional $140,000 for each USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that is used to transport presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment, according to the Hawaii Reporter.

The Secret Service and Navy SEALs rented a total of six beachfront homes during the president’s 2010 Christmas vacation for between $1,000 and $1,250 a day, the newspaper reported. Coast Guard personnel also patrol the beach in front of the vacation spot with 30-foot speedboats mounted with high-powered firearms and two smaller boats.

About two dozen Obama staff also stayed at the Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort & Spa, on Waikiki Beach last year, which carries a non-government rate of between $350 to $450 a night.

Obama told 300 supporters during his November visit to Hawaii that he would be back “shortly” with Michelle and daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 9.

"It is great to be home, great to feel that Aloha spirit. And Michelle and the girls will be back shortly for Christmas vacation, as we do every year,” he said at that time. “We'll see if Washington gets its business done, so I can get here as well. But that's always a challenge."

Gingrich calls GOP debate bickering unbecoming

Newt Gingrich says heavy bickering among Republican presidential candidates is a turn-off for Americans already repulsed by Washington political gridlock.

Gingrich tells CBS's "The Early Show" that harsh exchanges between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry at the Las Vegas faceoff were unbecoming.

He says "you have to have some sense of maturity and some sense of seriousness." He adds that "it hurt everybody to have bickering going on the way it was going on in that debate."

Gingrich, who has been unable to pierce the upper tier of Republicans in poll standings, says "the American people deserve a chance to see us act in a mature and responsible way." The former House speaker says he's looking forward to a one-on-one debate early next month in Texas with rival Herman Cain.

On another issue, Gingrich says he understands the frustrations behind the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations but doesn't approve of all the tactics that have been used by the protesters.

Cantaloupe outbreak is deadliest in a decade

 Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.

The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday — including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas — surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.

The CDC said Tuesday that they have confirmed two deaths in Texas and one death each in in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Last week the CDC reported two deaths in Colorado, four deaths in New Mexico, one in Oklahoma and one in Maryland.

New Mexico officials said Tuesday they are investigating a fifth death, while health authorities in Kansas and Wyoming said they too are investigating additional deaths possibly linked to the tainted fruit.

Listeria is more deadly than well-known pathogens like salmonella and E. coli, though those outbreaks generally cause many more illnesses. Twenty-one people died in an outbreak of listeria poisoning in 1998 traced to contaminated hot dogs and possibly deli meats made by Bil Mar Foods, a subsidiary of Sara Lee Corp. Another large listeria outbreak in 1985 killed 52 people and was linked to Mexican-style soft cheese.

Listeria generally only sickens the elderly, pregnant women and others with compromised immune systems. The CDC said the median age of those sickened is 78 and that one in five who contract the disease can die.

Dr. Robert Tauxe of the CDC says the number of illnesses and deaths will probably grow in coming weeks because the symptoms of listeria don't always show up right away. It can take four weeks or more for a person to fall ill after eating food contaminated with listeria.