Critics rain on Spain getaway for first lady

WASHINGTON - It sounded simple enough: a mother-daughter getaway during the dog days of August.

But it's not so simple when Mom is the first lady of the United States. And the trip is to a luxury resort on Spain's Costa del Sol. During tough economic times at home.

Michelle Obama's five-day trip to the south of Spain with daughter Sasha touched off a mini-firestorm stoked by questions about the wisdom of such a glamorous trip and speculation about who was footing the bill.

A day after her Air Force plane returned home, the White House and its defenders still were trying to tamp down the flames yesterday.

Obama aides argued that the first lady traveled with a "minimal" number of friends, not 40, though no exact number was given. The friends got to Spain on their own, not on government aircraft. Obama and her friends paid for their own meals and hotel rooms.

But the first lady does travel with Secret Service protection at taxpayer expense, and the expense of flying her military jet to Europe and back must have been considerable. Her entourage did book 60 rooms at one posh hotel, where the average room price is about $660.

"The more expensive a trip, the more criticism it invites," said Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush. "And yet that has to be balanced against the fact that the first lady, like anybody else, is in need of a vacation and a change of scenery."

White House adviser David Axelrod said Monday on CNN: "Yes, she is the first lady of the United States. She's also a mom. She wanted to take her daughter on a trip. They went with some friends . . . to celebrate another little girl's birthday. There aren't all that many places to go where you get privacy. Wherever you go, security is going to come, not because she asked for it, but because that is a nature of her - of her position in life."