At Tuesday’s state dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Obama family finally got to use dinnerware of their own design.
The cost? $367,258, about double the cost of the average American house.
The Obama state china service, a 320 11-piece place settings made by Pickard China of Antioch, Illinois, was introduced Monday.
It even got its own media preview in the State Dining Room. The event was so packed, in fact, there was concern that the mass of TV cameras and pushy reporters might knock over and break the dishes, which are delicate gold-rimmed stemware and massive centerpieces of cherry blossoms and orchids.
The Obama china has been in the works for about a year. The $367,258 cost of the china, all 3,520 pieces, was supposedly paid for by private funds, but is nonetheless extraordinarily excessive.
The tableware, of which the White House has many lovely sets commissioned by previous Presidents, is the ultimate self glorification by President’s and their wives. It shows the colossal ego and lack of humility by our elected leader.
It also shows how out of touch politicians are with regular, working class Americans. To spend such a lavish sum on such a ridiculously priced item highlights that America’s politicians have well and truly lost touch with voters.
It also shows how the institution of President has become a monarchy, where those who hold the office are treated like royalty rather than the elective representative of the people that they are.
Regardless of who paid for this indulgence it is money that could have been spent elsewhere and instead has been used to send a message to the people of America: your leaders are better than you and they want the world to know it.
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