Thread: OBAMA: THROW AMERICA UNDER THE BUS TOUR

Demonstrators outside Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday as President Obama arrived for a forum on the rural economy. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la ... f=obinsite

Obama's Bus Tour Faces GOP Backlash

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/o ... h-14313124

OBAMA MOTORCADE

Obama @ Zumbrota Ford

http://youtu.be/-_wmwwTTfcw

Obama's Canada-made luxury bus causes stir

The Canadian Press

Date: Wednesday Aug. 17, 2011 1:40 PM ET

MONTREAL — A luxury bus being used this week by U.S. President Barack Obama and built in part by a Quebec-based firm is causing quite a stir.

One prominent tabloid has chastised the president for using Canadian-made transportation during his economic recovery tour.

A New York Post piece on the bus ran with the headline: "Canucklehead Obama bus-ted!" There was also a cheeky insertion of a Canadian flag in a picture of the bus.

Canadian company Prevost says it is aware of reports but the company is keeping mum on the affair.

Steve Ziegler, the director of business development for Prevost, says the company only designed the outer shell of the luxury bus.

The interior was mainly done by a company in Tennessee and the U.S. Secret Service -- which ordered the bus -- put in a few finishing touches.

The Post reports that the vehicle is modified to carry all the president's equipment, including codes to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

But the Quebec-based bus-maker doesn't have anything to do with things like the so-called nuclear footballs.

"We just build the shells and we don't always know where it's going to the end user," Ziegler said.

"We're not really at liberty to talk about them, because it's Secret Service."

Prevost's VIP H3-45 is often used by rock stars on tour.

The jet-black behemoth with tinted windows has garnered attention for its elaborate look.

The $1.1 million bus is one of two ordered by the Secret Service and will be used during the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.

In the past, the service has had to lease buses and retrofit them for that purpose.

Obama is travelling through Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois in the bus this week.


http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20 ... us-110817/

Canucklehead Obama bus-ted! (PHOTOS)

By GEOFF EARLE Post Correspondent

Last Updated: 9:46 AM, August 17, 2011

Posted: 1:09 AM, August 17, 2011

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is barnstorming the heartland to boost US jobs in a taxpayer-financed luxury bus the government had custom built -- in Canada, The Post has learned.

The $1.1 million vehicle, one of two that Quebec-based Prevost sold the government, has been tricked out by the Secret Service with state-of-the-art security features and creature comforts.

It's a VIP H3-45 model, the company's top of the line, and is used by major traveling rock bands.

"That's the more luxurious model," Christine Garant of Prevost told The Post.

"When we have the Country Music Awards, we sometimes see a lot of them," she said, noting that Kid Rock, David Lee Roth and Kenny Rogers also have owned them.

Obama's new ride is equipped to carry all the baggage a president needs -- including the "football" that allows him to remotely control US nuclear weapons.

There's electronic equipment allowing Obama to communicate and teleconference worldwide.

Like his GM-built limousine, nicknamed "The Beast," the bus has armored doors.

The president also has large flat-screen TV sets and comfortable couches.

There's a bathroom, but unlike on Air Force One, no sleeping area.

The bus was ordered by the Secret Service in July 2010 and delivered two months ago.

The feds bought the two coaches for $2.2 million from Hemphill Brothers Coach, based in Tennessee. It installed custom interior upgrades into the Prevost shell, which accounted for about half the cost.

The contract lists the country of origin as Canada and place of manufacture as "outside U.S. - Trade Agreements," a possible reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Hemphill wouldn't comment on the bus. But an ad on its Web site for a similar bus costing $100,000 less than what has been dubbed "Greyhound One" boasts: "This coach is appointed with the finest materials and the latest in high tech electronics and was built for a top entertainer to travel efficiently without losing the luxuries of home.

"It is the perfect coach for entertainers, sports stars, NASCAR drivers, executive travel, or anyone accustomed to the very best."

Ed Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman, said, "There are certain security and communications equipment that we'll have in there. It's just a better situation for us rather than leasing something and then putting in temporary equipment."

Hemphill Brothers lists Beyoncé, Cher, KISS, Van Halen, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and Pope Benedict XVI as clients on its Web site.

The Secret Service says the buses will be available to other protectees who travel by bus, which could include the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/c ... z1VJygNos5

Top Black Dem On Obama Bus Tour: "He's Not In Any Black Community"



http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/ ... tired.html

"We're supportive of the president, but we're getting tired. We're getting tired. So, what we want to do is, we want to give the president every opportunity to show -- to show what he can do and what he's prepared to lead on," Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told a Congressional Black Caucus-sponsored gathering yesterday in Detroit.

"Our people are hurting," Waters added.

"We don't know why on this trip that he's in the United States now, he's not in any black communities. We don't know that," Waters said.

Louis Gohmert: Obama Riding 'Darth Vader Bus' On 'Magical Misery Tour' (VIDEO)



U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) criticized President Barack Obama's bus tour of the Midwest during an appearance on Fox Business Tuesday night.

The Republican congressman characterized the trip as the president riding in "his Darth Vader bus" on a "magical misery tour." He also compared Obama to an "evil emperor."

Gohmert suggested the president needs to "stop this hurtful rhetoric" when it comes to his support of the wealthy Americans paying their fair share when it comes to taxes.

The White House bus tour has taken the president through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. The trip has given Obama the opportunity to meet with constituents and speak about the job crisis, as well as the state of the economy after the deficit debate



Rep. Gohmert Talks to Lou Dobbs on The Fox Business Network

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd4OMo7V ... dded#at=19