Post by subdjoe on Jun 22, 2011 20:17:02 GMT -5
The president is not going, but Mrs. Obama is being joined by her daughters, Malia and Sasha, as well as her mother, Marian Robinson, and a niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson. Her family will join her on most outings, probably exposing her daughters to more of the media spotlight than they're used to.
It was during her first solo trip outside the U.S., to Mexico in April 2010, that the first lady started an effort to encourage young people to become involved in their communities and countries and not shy away from trying to solve persistent global problems.
The youth population outside the U.S. is growing fast, with young people ages 15 to 24 making up 20 percent of the world's population.
"The fact is is that responsibility for meeting the defining challenges of our time will soon fall to all of you," Mrs. Obama told thousands of university students in Mexico City. "Soon, the world will be looking to your generation to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will fuel our prosperity and ensure our well-being for decades to come."
That message is likely to resonate in a place such as South Africa, where two of three residents are younger than 30, said Jennifer Cooke, an Africa scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Botswana is a regular stop for U.S. officials. Well governed, it is considered one of Africa's best functioning democracies, Cooke said.
Many of the stops on Mrs. Obama's trip will highlight South Africa's past under apartheid, the system of white-minority rule. She'll also pay tribute to the legacy of Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his role in the anti-apartheid movement. He later became South Africa's first elected black president.
The size of Mrs. Obama's traveling party is sure to invite comparisons to her vacation last August in Spain with Sasha and friends. The five-day trip to Spain's Costa del Sol stoked a bit of a firestorm about the wisdom of taking a glamorous trip with such economic hurt at home and raised speculation about who was paying the bill.
Attempting to head off similar criticism this time, the White House said Mrs. Obama is allowed to bring guests with her on the plane because she's on official U.S. business, as the president is allowed on his official trips. All other costs regarding her family are to be paid for privately.
Read more: www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/20/michelle-obama-aims-to-inspire-in-south-africa-botswana/#ixzz1Q3ZWyLkN
It was during her first solo trip outside the U.S., to Mexico in April 2010, that the first lady started an effort to encourage young people to become involved in their communities and countries and not shy away from trying to solve persistent global problems.
The youth population outside the U.S. is growing fast, with young people ages 15 to 24 making up 20 percent of the world's population.
"The fact is is that responsibility for meeting the defining challenges of our time will soon fall to all of you," Mrs. Obama told thousands of university students in Mexico City. "Soon, the world will be looking to your generation to make the discoveries and to build the industries that will fuel our prosperity and ensure our well-being for decades to come."
That message is likely to resonate in a place such as South Africa, where two of three residents are younger than 30, said Jennifer Cooke, an Africa scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Botswana is a regular stop for U.S. officials. Well governed, it is considered one of Africa's best functioning democracies, Cooke said.
Many of the stops on Mrs. Obama's trip will highlight South Africa's past under apartheid, the system of white-minority rule. She'll also pay tribute to the legacy of Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his role in the anti-apartheid movement. He later became South Africa's first elected black president.
The size of Mrs. Obama's traveling party is sure to invite comparisons to her vacation last August in Spain with Sasha and friends. The five-day trip to Spain's Costa del Sol stoked a bit of a firestorm about the wisdom of taking a glamorous trip with such economic hurt at home and raised speculation about who was paying the bill.
Attempting to head off similar criticism this time, the White House said Mrs. Obama is allowed to bring guests with her on the plane because she's on official U.S. business, as the president is allowed on his official trips. All other costs regarding her family are to be paid for privately.
Read more: www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/20/michelle-obama-aims-to-inspire-in-south-africa-botswana/#ixzz1Q3ZWyLkN
Several questions come to mind. First is what the heck is she doing conducting "official U.S. business?" She is not a member of the cabinet. She holds no elected office. She is not connected to the government in any way, other than being married to the president.
I can understand a representative of the the U.S. government being allowed to have a spouse or significant other along on a trip. That is reasonable. But that brings up the second question - what is the limit? And how far can an official branch out? Second cousins? And how can bringing five others be justified? This sounds a whole lot more like a family vacation than any kind of trip on 'official U.S. Business.'
And, the third question is who is the private party in All other costs regarding her family are to be paid for privately. The Obamas themselves? If not, then we need to follow the money and see who is trying to buy influence.