When in doubt, blame the president. Hey, it works for folks on swine flu, the economy and apparently for parents from Stafford County, Va. The parents of kindergartners slated for a tour of the White House who were turned away after arriving more than an hour late for their visit are blasting President Barack Obama for not being a man of the people.
The parents of kids from Conway Elementary School told NBC that their kids arrived ten minutes late for a tour of the White House that cost parents $20 per child. But staff at the president's home say the buses pulled in a full hour late, and they'd held the gates for them that long - fifteen minutes longer than they usually allow for late guests.
With an impending visit by members of the Pittsburgh Steelers that day (a visit during which White House staff and the football players put together care packages for the Wounded Warriors program for injured service members, by the way), the White House couldn't accomodate the tour.
The White House staff were the folks who would have had to lead the tour. The same staff who had to prepare for another scheduled visit that day, and in a place that runs like a well-oiled machine (in part because of security issues not faced by many other places on this planet), that's their JOB. But apparently they were supposed to ignore that and just let the kids in.
Said parent chaperone Paty Stine: "Here we have President Obama and his administration saying, 'Here we
are for the common, middle class people,' and here he is not letting
150 5- and 6-year-olds into the White House because he’s throwing a
lunch for a bunch of grown millionaires."
Because this was the president himself out there telling kids "you can't come in, nanny, nanny, boo boo!" The president who conspired to have Beltway traffic keep the kids from arriving at their destination at the appointed hour. Not to mention the president who could think of nothing better to do that day then rearrange his leader of the free world schedule just because someone didn't plan a cushion into a trip in (infamously nightmarish) D.C. traffic.
Got that? It's the president's fault.
Oh, and that president, by the way? Released a statement saying he and wife Michelle would like to see the trip rescheduled because they feel badly that the children were disappointed. But the kids, er, parents have apparently taken their marbles and run home. They told NBC the end of the school year is fast approaching, and they can't see how they can reschedule.
If your kids' bus arrived at a museum an hour late, would you blame the museum director for not letting them in? What if they showed up at a water park an hour late? A theater? How about blaming the school here folks.
Image: NBC (that Steelers visit)
via Gawker
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