OBUMMER RIPS OFF TAXPAYERS! (NOT.)

The right is really working this story:

Obama Is Now the Most Costly Former President

After his pension, an office space, and other perks, former President Obama is costing taxpayers the most to support out of all the ex-presidents.

Next year, the American people will be footing his bill to the tune of $1,153,000, according to a Congressional Research Service memo. This figure is more than $100,000 higher than President George W. Bush’s request and roughly $200,000 more than President Clinton’s. Former President George H.W. Bush will receive $942,000 and President Carter will bring in $456,000.

But in 2012, when AP looked at the taxpayer cost of ex-presidents, expenses for George W. Bush were greater:

George W. Bush tops list of ex-presidents' expenses in 2012 at $1.3 million

... The most exclusive club in the world has a similarly exclusive price tag - nearly $3.7 million, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. That's how much the federal government spent last year on the four living ex-presidents and one presidential widow.

Topping the list in 2012 was George W. Bush, who got just over $1.3 million last year.

The AP story explained why W was #1:

Departing presidents also get extra help in the first years after they leave office, one reason that Bush's costs were higher than other living ex-presidents. The most recent ex-president to leave the White House, Bush was granted almost $400,000 for 8,000 square feet of office space in Dallas, plus $85,000 in telephone costs. Another $60,000 went to travel costs.

And this was in 2012. Bush had been out of office since January '09. Obama just left office a few months ago.

Look, you can question whether ex-presidents still need to have their non-security expenses paid by the taxpayers -- after all, they tend to get big book deals, and can make a lot of money other ways.

But Obama's cost to taxpayers isn't unusual or unprecedented. He won't be the costliest ex-president for very long. And I don't even want to think about how much we'll be ponying up for the current president when he steps down.