The Washington Post ran a fun story yesterday mapping President Obama’s 2014 travel.
Literally month-by-month they mapped out all stops that Obama made. How much did he travel in 2014?
Over the course of the year, according to our estimates, Obama traveled over 188,000 miles. That’s all movement, from the White House to the State Department or from the White House to Australia.
In terms of the monthly ranges, Obama traveled just 2,700 miles last January (poor Air Force One!), while he traveled 28,800 miles in November.
So did you travel more or less than President Obama in 2014?
While I haven’t mapped out my 2014 travels yet, in 2013 I flew 400,000+ miles, and that doesn’t include other modes of transportation (not that they contribute significantly to that total). 😉
@Lantean;
I would say just the opposite; red is revenue. I remember that he actually paid to fly to GRU on that crazy trip which included visiting Brazil 3 times in one week or something like that.
@Craig - They were almost certainly there for the Secretary, but I'd be very surprised if they were from the Secret Service. Most cabinet secretaries who have security are protected by law enforcement organizations from their own departments (unless they fall into one of the categories in the link I posted). The only time a cabinet secretary would be protected by the Secret Service is during the State of the Union. There's always one cabinet...
@Craig - They were almost certainly there for the Secretary, but I'd be very surprised if they were from the Secret Service. Most cabinet secretaries who have security are protected by law enforcement organizations from their own departments (unless they fall into one of the categories in the link I posted). The only time a cabinet secretary would be protected by the Secret Service is during the State of the Union. There's always one cabinet secretary who skips the address, in case of some kind of disaster that wipes out the entire governmental leadership, and that person has Secret Service protection until the SOTU is over.
Old timers might remember when President Nixon flew coach on United to California once as a publicity stunt.
@Darin - Not to worry, Africa is getting lots of attention from China... :(
I am 100% sure that if the president had traveled 400K+ miles in 2014, his detractors would have had field day with it. Heck, he simply took his girl out for a dinner and the blogosphere went viral about it!!! (see here: http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/barack-obama-faces-elitism-claims-over-1-000-for-two-hawaiian-dinner-with-michelle.110528/ ).
More to the point is: why would anyone with a "regular job" (meaning one that does not require them to travel for a living) travel 400K+ miles a year? What...
I am 100% sure that if the president had traveled 400K+ miles in 2014, his detractors would have had field day with it. Heck, he simply took his girl out for a dinner and the blogosphere went viral about it!!! (see here: http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/barack-obama-faces-elitism-claims-over-1-000-for-two-hawaiian-dinner-with-michelle.110528/ ).
More to the point is: why would anyone with a "regular job" (meaning one that does not require them to travel for a living) travel 400K+ miles a year? What is the point if it is not necessary? The POTUS practically owns Air Force One. He could just order it to go wherever he chooses to travel. But why would he if there is no reason to travel?
That is the difference between @Lucky's job and the POTUS's, among many others differences ;-)
Africa looks so lonely.
@Craig - Are you sure they were Secret Service, and not some other agency? The Secret Service doesn't protect the Secretary of Commerce, according to this: http://www.secretservice.gov/protection.shtml
@Brian L - I should have asked for credentials but I am not sure they would have acquiesced... Who knows who they were but they did look official. I wandered into an area of the building that frequent and there were a couple 2-3 guys hanging out in the hallway in front of the boardroom door dressed up with ear buds, lapel pins, and packing so I can only assume they were there for the...
@Brian L - I should have asked for credentials but I am not sure they would have acquiesced... Who knows who they were but they did look official. I wandered into an area of the building that frequent and there were a couple 2-3 guys hanging out in the hallway in front of the boardroom door dressed up with ear buds, lapel pins, and packing so I can only assume they were there for the Secretary.
I might not fly as much as the President - or most of you regular posters, but I probably sleep away from home as much or more as the President usually about 1/2 to 2/3 of the time a month. Although for me, I operate mostly on the East Coast, so I won't lie, I avoid flying as much as I can for any number of reasons and take any number of transportation options, car, plane, train, bus, subway, helicopter, ship, you name it. Once, about 7 years ago, I went somewhere via hot air balloon but that is a story for another day. Probably the only form of transportation that I haven't taken, for point to point travel not just recreation, is camel service in the Middle East.
As for the President, I wouldn't mind that amount of travel as AF1 is outfitted with everything you need to get work done plus plenty of space to stretch, sleep, etc. The biggest hassle of flying for me is sitting in the seat for long periods and not moving around. As a diabetic, it is a toll and a major reason why I upgrade and also why I seek out alternative forms of transportation.
We hosted the Secretary of Commerce here the other day at the Chamber. She arrived with a couple of Secret Service but flies commercial that has to be interesting.
Should do a story on flights (or travels) bumping into celebrities or getting caught up in official business. I take Amtrak a lot through Washington DC and quite a few very important people take the rails and quite openly.
I'd be more interested in seeing Secretary of State Kerry's map, or even better, Hillary Clinton's when she was SoS. I bet it's (at least) double what the president flew.
@Lantean : the opposite, per the post https://onemileatatime.com/reflecting-on-my-2013-travels/
@Abdel Rahim Abdallah
i'm going to venture a guess that blue flights are revenue, red ones are awards.
I didn't fly as much as the Prez but he didn't get FF miles or points.
Air Force One - the ultimate upgrade!
What is the difference between red and blue flights?
In 2014, I flew 460000 butt-in-seat miles!