Michelle Obama's Ballooning Vacation Tab: $10 Million and Counting

You won't read it in the mainstream U.S. media, but the British press are all over a story about first lady Michelle Obama spending an estimated $10 million in taxpayer money on her frequent vacations.

The Telegraph and the Daily Mail of London report that Mrs. Obama has spent no fewer than 42 days on vacation over the past year -- thats one in every nine days.

"Her vacations, the cost of which are mostly borne by taxpayers, include trips to Panama City; Marthas Vineyard; Hawaii; South Africa; Latin America; Vail, Colo.; and a recent visit to her brother in Corvallis, Ore.," the Telegraph reported.

The total does not include the family's latest sojourn to Marthas Vineyard. Nor does it include a trip she made to Ireland and Great Britain in May, which counted as official travel.

Official or not, the tab for the first lady's jaunts is picked up by taxpayers -- even when she flies separately from the president, as she sometimes does.

Thus far, the White House has not provided a complete cost accounting of Mrs. Obama's vacations.

See story here.