10 minute Obama talk in Ohio cost between $500,000 and $1 million

Of course, no mention of where this money would have been spent if the government hadn't gotten its hands on it.

The project he came to spotlight is funded by $15 milllion from the Recovery Act to rebuild roads in the area around Nationwide Children's Hospital. The White House says the program will create over 300 construction jobs.

Mr. Obama spoke for just ten minutes and was on the ground in Ohio for just over an hour. And though his appearance was billed as official and not political, he did use his remarks to deliver attaboys to some of the Democratic politicians here including the Governor, who is up for re-election.

"You also got one of the best governors in the country in Ted Strickland," the president said at the start of his remarks.

Strickland faces a challenge for his job in November from former GOP Congressman John Kasich, who was not at the Recovery Act event. Neither was Boehner.

The trip Columbus probably cost taxpayers between $500,000 and $1 million.

Air Force One alone bills out at $100,000 per hour, and the round trip is nearly two hours. Adding to the cost are military aircraft to carry limos and secret service vehicles, Marine One on standby, Secret Service, local police and other factors. . . .

To provide security for that 10 minute speech by Obama, the Secret Service had to shutdown construction at a nearby construction site for the entire day and those workers lost out on getting paid.

President Obama went to the groundbreaking of a road project in Columbus, Ohio, Friday to show that his massive stimulus package is still churning out jobs -- a "good news" story that was anything but for some construction workers who were trying to figure out how to make up for the payday they lost due to the president's visit.

The workers were told not to report to their construction project at a nearby hospital Friday, because the Secret Service was shutting it down for security reasons. They also were told that they would not get paid for the forced day off. . . .

"The bosses told us we weren't working because the president is coming, and we are wondering why," construction worker George Harrison told WBNS-10TV. "That's $200 we are missing out on. Everybody needs to eat, right?"