NYT Reporter: Obama Worried About Personal Finances, “Even The President Made Uncomfortable Jokes About Why His Wife Needed So Many Things”…
From Jodi Kantor’s
The Obamas, page 90–91:
Even the president made uncomfortable jokes about why his wife needed so many things. Behind the scenes, aides said, the Obamas were concerned about money: the president’s books could only sell so many copies, and it would be years until he could write more and the first lady could write her own. From vacation rental homes big enough to accommodate the Secret Service to all the personal entertaining they did at the White House, their lifestyle had grown fearsomely expensive.
Via National Review