The American Ruling Class in Moscow

We're being told that we must all sacrifice in the midst of our current economic crisis. Evidently, "all" does not include the First Family.

In April, Michelle Obama wore a pair of $540 sneakers to a D.C. food bank. In May, the President and First Lady jetted to New York City for a date night. Some estimates put the cost of the date at nearly a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars, although the exact cost is not known because the "most open presidency in history" has refused to divulge those numbers.

Now, the First Lady has reportedly been carrying in Moscow a $5,950 alligator manila envelope clutch by VBH (which I think is a really high-class way of saying an expensive gator-skin small purse manufactured by a company that I've never heard of before, but then, I'm just a uneducated redneck from flyover country).

The White House denies that Mrs. Obama's little purse, uh.. envelope clutch, cost that much. They say that it cost only $875. However, a representative for VBH said, "It’s definitely ours."

Either way, this image of the First Lady making a show of such extravagance in a city with a long history of ruling class extravagance juxtaposed against working class poverty seems to me to be more than a little unsettling.