Obama Bus Tour: Taxpayer-funded

The Obama "listening" bus tour of the Midwest, clearly a campaign mission, is going to be funded by taxpayers.

The very snippy, incompetent Jay Carney insists that Obama won't be campaigning, just carrying out his duties as president.

Yeah, right! The Obama bus tour stunt is so presidential.

I'm sick of paying the bill for Obama's campaign events.

No doubt, he'll be in Wisconsin, to "listen."

Video:



Transcript, White House:

QUESTION: Is there anything you can tell us about the bus tour the President plans to take -- where he’s going and why?

JAY CARNEY: Well, I can tell you that it will be from August 15th through the 17th, and that it will be through the Midwest. Further details will be forthcoming later. That’s all I have for you now.

QUESTION: But in terms of the --

CARNEY: I mean, he will get out -- very happily getting out in the country again, after a sustained period here in Washington. And he will -- he looks forward to talking to folks about growing the economy, creating jobs. And we’ll have more details, again, as I said, about the specifics of the trip later.

QUESTION: Did you say out of the country or out of --

CARNEY: Out in the country.

QUESTION: Oh, in the country. I’m sorry.

CARNEY: The Midwest.

QUESTION: I’m sorry.

CARNEY: Yes.

QUESTION: Is that a campaign event or --

CARNEY: Negative. It is an official event.

QUESTION: Okay, so it will be funded by taxpayers?

CARNEY: He’s the President of the United States.

Yes.

QUESTION: The bus tour -- it’s certainly a visual, but what are the tangibles?

CARNEY: Again, we’ll have more specifics about this trip itself. The air of cynicism is quite thick. The idea that the President of the United States should not venture forth into the country is ridiculous.

QUESTION: I didn't suggest that.

CARNEY: No, but you implied it in your question. And it is absolutely important for the President, whoever that person is, in the past and in the future, to get out and hear from people in different communities. And the President -- this is a trip that we’ve had on our books for quite a long time, and he very much looks forward to taking it.

Carney was extremely defensive.

He certainly has trouble maintaining his cool when he's trying to defend the indefensible.
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Obama will be in Michigan on August 11.

Johnson Controls Inc. will host President Barack Obama next week at its advanced battery factory in Holland, Mich.

The factory was opened to make lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles that were developed at the company’s battery laboratory in Glendale, as part of the company’s joint venture with the French battery developer Saft.

The visit will take place Thursday at the factory that Johnson Controls opened as part of its $598 million investment in advanced battery technology — half of which was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The $299 million stimulus grant to Johnson Controls was the biggest project funded in 2009 by the Obama administration awarded as part of a $2.4 billion investment in advanced batteries, which the administration aims to help the U.S. reduce reliance on imported oil, boost fuel economy of vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

During a briefing to reporters at the White House Thursday, Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney said, “While at Johnson Controls, the President will highlight the key role innovative technologies will play in helping automakers achieve the historic fuel-economy standards, establishing U.S. leadership in advanced vehicle manufacturing, spurring economic growth and creating high-quality domestic jobs in cutting-edge industries across America.”

Obama will be spending quite a bit of time in the Midwest next week.

Taxpayers will be spending a lot of money, stuck with paying the expenses for Obama's campaign events.