Let’s take a trip down memory lane: PUMA
One of Obama’s Earmark Requests Was for the Hospital That Employs Michelle Obama
Dan Riehl notes, via Amanda Carpenter, that in the list of earmarks he requested, $1 million was requested for the construction of a new hospital pavilion at the University Of Chicago. The request was put in in 2006.
You know who works for the University of Chicago Hospital?
Michelle Obama. She’s vice president of community affairs.
As Byron noted, “In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office.
Well, time passed, Barack Obama got elected to the Position of President of the United States, and quite frankly, Michelle Obama no longer needed the job. So what did the University of Chicago Hospital do? Why, it simply eliminated the position it had created for Michelle Obama. But then again, Michelle Obama got paid over 300k per year for each of the past 2 years, but hardly ever showed up to wor because she took “a leave” to assist her husband on the campaign trail…
The University of Chicago Medical Center late Friday confirmed a massive restructuring that will trim $100 million in expenses, or nearly 7 percent of its annual budget, amid the economic downturn and unpaid bills owed the hospital from the state Medicaid program for the poor.
Initially, the hospital is eliminating 15 senior executive jobs, including vice president for community and external affairs, a position that had been by incoming First Lady Michelle Obama. Her duties will be taken over by Dr. Eric Whitaker, a friend of her husband, President-elect Barack Obama, and a long-time executive vice president for strategic affiliations and external affairs.
So not only did Michelle get paid a ton of money for not showing up to work, but now that she no longer needs the position, her position of Vice President for Community and External Affairs is simply eliminated and her duties are simply going to be handled by another individual.
Is it any surprise that Rod Blagojevich was trying to get a sweetheart deal for his own wife?
