British Press Entranced by Sheer Size of Obamas' Traveling Entourage

I received an email from a friend claiming this article appeared in the editorial section of The Knoxville News-Sentinel. I wasn't able to confirm that claim without paying an archive fee, but was able to verify the story with (free) archives from the London Guardian (original publishing date of 29 March 2009): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/29/obama-london-visit-uk-g20.>

This is almost beyond belief.....

"The British press is entranced by the sheer size of Obama's traveling entourage and no wonder. Obama arrived with - 500 staff in tow, including:

200 Secret Service agents

A team of 6 doctors

The White House chef and kitchen staff with the president's own food and water. And, according to the Evening Standard, he also came with "35 vehicles in all, 4 speech writers and 12 teleprompters."

The president is entitled to all the security, communications and support he feels necessary to do his job. Surely, when we're trying to project a more restrained, humble image to the world, the president's huge retinue could be scaled back to something less than the triumphal march from "Aida."

Now, I whole heartedly agree with the last paragraph of this editorial article, wherever it is from. How about you?