It's difficult to answer this question, because in each presidency, certain costs go up. (In other words, the cost of fuel for Air Force One is undoubtedly more now than, let's say, fifteen years ago.) If you are asking whether conservative talk show hosts are correct when they claim President Obama has spent the most money on vacation, no they are not: their job is to be outraged, as liberal talk show hosts were outraged when Bush was the president. Every president is accused by his political opponents of spending too much on vacation, and Barack Obama is no exception. But there is not much evidence that Obama is actually spending more than his predecessors did.
Regarding how much time off presidents take, Mark Knoller, who covers the White House for CBS News, wrote in August 2011 that "President Obama has taken 61 vacation days after 31 months in office. At this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch where his staff often joined him for meetings. And Ronald Reagan had taken 112 vacation days at his ranch. Among recent presidents, Bill Clinton took the least time off -- 28 days."
The reality is that President Obama, President Bush, and other modern presidents all find it very expensive to go on vacation: they have to be accompanied by the Secret Service, they need private hotels, and as mentioned before, the cost of fuel for Air Force One has gone up. And, as Mark Knoller also reminded readers, "...a presidential vacation away from the White House is not the same as a vacation for the average person. The president is still in contact with his advisers and on call for any emergency." Thus, given the pressure of the job, most taxpayers understand that presidents deserve some time off, even if the costs are by no means cheap.
george w bush
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores.
The US president who has spent the most money during their time in office is George W. Bush. His administration saw an increase in government spending, particularly on defense and homeland security following the September 11 attacks.
Not nearly as much as Obama and his family have spent on their vacations.
George W Bush
The document that describes how money should be spent is called a budget.
what is a document sent to congress by the president to tell his ideas on how government money should be spent
Michelle Obama
The Obamas are entitled to use the $44 million dollars of taxpayers money on vacation because he is appointed president and must rest sometime from serving the people. There's no reason why it should be illegal.
george w bush
Bush. 43
It is a partisan myth that presidents cost us outrageous sums of money when they are on vacation. Republicans like to accuse Democratic presidents of being wasteful, and Democrats like to accuse Republicans of the same. To be fair, even when presidents are on vacation, they are also on duty, ready to take an emergency call from a cabinet member or someone in the Pentagon or whoever else might need to talk to the Commander in Chief. It is also a myth that President Obama has taken more vacations than any other president. There are some presidents who spend more time on vacation than others: but President Obama so far has not spent an unusual amount of time on vacation. That said, whether we are discussing President Bush or President Obama, vacations can be expensive, since they require secret service, special use of Air Force One (with fuel charges, paying staff, etc), and whatever the cost of the rental of the vacation house, meals, etc. According to some estimates, President Obama's vacations have actually cost less than those of President Bush. But the fact remains: there is no easy or cheap way for any president to take some time off without incurring a number of expenses, and yes, these expenses do affect the taxpayers.