Steyn: The Imperial Presidency needs to cut back, at least symbolically

  Steyn at his best ( and not most depressing) reveals that the royals in other country's don't seem to need all the trappings that the Imperial Presidency does. Not only is this hilarious, it is a must read eye opener that introduces the idea of austerity (heck, even just spending as much as last year would help) to the Obama administration.
  Here's a snippet from NRO:

Symbols are important. In other circumstances, the Obamas’ vacation on Martha’s Vineyard might not be terribly relevant. But this is a president who blames his dead-parrot economy on “bad luck” — specifically, the Arab Spring and the Japanese tsunami: [SNIP] Did no one in the smartest administration in history think this might be the time for the president to share in some of the “bad luck” and forgo an ostentatious vacation in the exclusive playground of the rich? When you’re the presiding genius of the Brokest Nation in History, enjoying the lifestyle of the super-rich while allegedly in “public service” sends a strikingly Latin American message. Underlining the point, the president then decided to pass among his suffering people by touring small town Minnesota in an armored Canadian bus accompanied by a 40-car motorcade. In some of these one-stoplight burgs, the president’s escort had more vehicles than the municipality he was graciously blessing with his presence.