Is it OK to cheat on your expense account (and I mean big time). Her initials are SP.

Mom, who’s traveled a lot of the world with her kids, checking in. I always paid for the kiddies airfare. When the room was kids stay free I did not prorate the fee, hey the hotel said they stayed free. When there was an extra charge for kids I paid it. All kid food was on my account. Why is this so hard to understand?

ETA: When I say on my account, I mean I paid it personally. It was not on the business account.

My personal acid test for these things is would I care if… say… Bill Clinton did it.
Not really.

Let me understand you: you wouldn’t care if Bill Clinton had listed Chelsea as performing an offiical function that she didn’t actually perform?

Nope.

Allowed? Sure, anyone’s allowed. Have the company pay for it? If I were a stockholder of that company, I’d be pretty pissed off.

To be fair, Caribou Barbie DOES need many accessories. Today’s pre-teen girls just demand it.

If Bill Clinton, while he was governor of Arkansas, billed to the state of Arkansas the cost of airline travel for bringing Chelsea along on his gubernatorial business trips, it wouldn’t bother you?

Do I stutter?

On the other hand, dressing and accessorizing Palin is a perfectly legitimate expense for the RNC. She’s their candidate for VP; making her look her best is just good politics.

Harrison! It was Harrison Ford!

And just try getting him OFF Air Force One - sheesh, he hung out the back end clinging to a rope. The man wanted his plane.

Nowhere did I say Palin should take her kids on official functions.

Some people have a problem with listing the kids expenses under official function or clarification as such. Its simple. The reason they travelled is because of the official function. That their mother attended. No other reason. The kids are part of the entourage. If the state wants Mom then the kids are part of the package.

There is a very easy way for Sarah Palin to take her kids on any business trip she wants- all she has to do is pay their way.

It works the same for virtually every business on the planet.

If the people want to change things and foot the bill for the first family to tag along to state functions, they are welcome to vote on it. Until that happens, falsifying expense reports is just as bad for Sarah Palin as it would be for any other worker. I know my mom would get fired in a minute if she tried to take me on business trips and claim it as an expense.

FWIW, the president and the president’s family is subject to pretty tight financial regulations regarding non-official entertaining, personal travel, personal staff, etc. Being president can end up being quite costly.

I wasn’t sure if you were referring to while he was governor or president. Thank you for clearing up the fact that you are OK with politicians charging the taxpayer for their family’s travel expenses while on official business.

Think Harrison.

You are not making any sense to me.

Cool! I’m going to let my mom know I can go with her next time she travels as part of her job with the State of California!

The reason she hasn’t taken you before is because she doesn’t want you with her.

What the hell is it with some of the lefties on this board?

I meant exactly what I said. Don’t make up other shit and pretend that’s what I said. Don’t put words in my mouth or attribute positions to me that I did not explicitly state. Use the quote button to address your integrity issues.

It’s real simple.

Ok, so Bristol stayed for 5 days and 4 nights at a luxury hotel ($700/night at the Essex House, conveniently located at Central Park) on the taxpayer’s dime. So what. Palin says that her kids were invited to attend or participate in official events:

Well, maybe Governor Palin isn’t being truthful.

There’s also the matter of her adjusting her official travel records, after they were requested by Alaska reporters. “First Family attending” and “First Family invited” were the dubious clarifications.

Then there’s the Ritz-Carlton Hotel of Philadelphia (only $215.46/night) enjoyed by Bristol and Piper for 5 nights. Sounds enjoyable. The official purpose?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081021/ap_on_el_pr/palin_family_travel

I agree though that this isn’t the worst that I’ve heard about Palin. Such skimming seems par for the course.

It doesn’t bother (your word) you, but it’s not OK (my word) with you?

This thread is about a politician charging the taxpayer for family travel. It doesn’t bother you if Clinton does it. I get that. Therefore it doesn’t bother you if Palin does it. I get that too.

Therefore it is OK with you if a politician charges the taxpayer for family travel.

What am I not getting?

Trying to pass her off as a “hockey mom” and then having her Imelda-Marcos-esque accessory budget come out is… not so good politics.