O 'Date' Controversy Simmers

From Kenneth T. Walsh at US News:
It seemed like a harmless moment in Barack Obama's presidency—a night on the town for the first couple in New York.
But the episode Saturday night is taking on a life of its own in the media, and much of the reaction is turning critical.
The Today Show on NBC this morning noted that the timing and cost of the trip seemed awkward to some because of the recession and the fact that many American families are struggling. Correspondent Savannah Guthrie said, "The Obamas took a smaller Air Force One to the city for a date night. Press and staff followed in two smaller planes."
A White House official responded to Republican criticism that the trip was extravagant. "The president would have been happy to take the shuttle to New York City if they'd been permitted to do so," he said, indicating that the Secret Service insisted on government planes. The official said he couldn't immediately provide an estimate of the cost, but it seemed likely to run into tens of thousands of taxpayers' dollars. [Estimate: At least $24,000.]
Barack and Michelle Obama jetted to New York Saturday afternoon, rode a government helicopter into Manhattan, and had dinner at the critically acclaimed Blue Hill restaurant. Then they went north to Times Square—causing traffic blockages and drawing a heavy police presence—where they saw "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." After the show, the Obamas took a motorcade down Sixth Avenue, shut down by police. Thousands of onlookers waved and cheered as the couple headed home to the White House.
And from Breitbart:
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is declining to say what it cost for President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to eat dinner and take in a play in New York over the weekend. Asked if he would outline the costs, Gibbs said Monday the Obamas would have preferred using a commercial airline shuttle to New York and back but the Secret Service would not allow such unprotected travel.
The president has been criticized for the trip to New York in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and with thousands of auto workers facing unemployment as General Motors prepared to file for bankruptcy and Chrysler was about to emerge from court-guided restructuring.