“How simple, politically astute, symbolically helpful and cost-effective it would have been for the Obamas this year to say that in sympathy with so many struggling countrymen, they were curtailing holiday decorations to match the sacrifices of others.”
By Dell Hill via Investors Business Daily
Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images
The economy may be weak, unemployment strong and the first family soon to vacate the White House for another half-month of vacation in Hawaii.
But the Obamas have gone all out in decorating their house this year, including a nearly quarter-ton gingerbread White House.
They have also installed 37 different Christmas trees. Thirty of the trees are live, or were, including one nearly 19-feet tall from Wisconsin. Seven of the three dozen Christmas trees are artificial or homemade including, of course, one from recyclables.
"We have 37 Christmas trees here at the White House--37!" Michelle Obama excitedly told a recent group of visitors. "That's a lot, right?
Yes, that's a lot of trees. And we also have a 400-pound White House gingerbread house."
Virtually every room has also been decorated for the holidays with some kind of a replica of the Obamas' dog, Bo, who's being made into a kind of first family Christmas canine symbol.
The Bo's are made of all sorts of materials and come in all sizes. There are Bo's made of pom-poms (750 of them), Bo's made from about 2,000 pieces of licorice, Bo's made from some 35 yards of wool felt and Bo's made from nearly 7,000 feet of plastic trash bags. There's even a nine-inch Bo made from hundreds of buttons.
So abundant are the decorations for visitors to the Obama White House to view that the first family needed more than 100 volunteers to fly in from all over the country to help set up the numerous displays, including photos and letters from military families and even some aluminum cans.
The theme the first lady chose for the decorations was "Share, Give, Shine."
Of course, every administration decorates the White House in some way for holidays, from green fountain water in mid-March to evergreen wreaths come December.
The extravagance of 2011's decorations, however, are striking given the widespread joblessness, pale economic growth, home foreclosures and grim outlook for 2012, not to mention the incumbent president's historically low approval rating heading into his reelection bid.
How simple, politically astute, symbolically helpful and cost-effective it would have been for the Obamas this year to say that in sympathy with so many struggling countrymen, they were curtailing holiday decorations to match the sacrifices of others.
Mrs. Obama took another tack, however. She said the massive holiday displays in her White House are designed to make others feel better, especially military families.
"I know for some of you, this holiday season will be tough," she told some visitors. "But hopefully, it's times like this that make you know that you live in a grateful nation, and that we are just so inspired by your sacrifice. And hopefully, this is a memory that will stay with you every holiday season."
Dell’s Bottom Line: “I know for some of you, this holiday season will be tough” - But, not for those of us living in the lap of luxury, on your dime!
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