As many Americans continue to struggle to find work, forgoing Christmas presents and vacations this year as a result, Barack Obama is headed to Hawaii on Friday for his 17-day long, $4 million vacation courtesy of taxpayers. The Hawaii Reporter breaks down the numbers by category: 
 
 TRAVEL: $3,629,622 
 
 
 
 The biggest expense is President Barack Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii via Air Force One, a cost the GAO office estimated at $1 million in the year 2000. Contacted today, the GAO confirmed there is no report the independent office affiliated with Congress has prepared since 2000 to operate Air Force One and Air Force Two. 
 
 
 
 However, the U.S. Air Force provides the most current numbers of $181,757 per flight hour. Travel time for Air Force One direct from Washington D.C. to Hawaii is about 9 hours or $1,635,813 each way for a total of $3,271,622 for the round trip to Hawaii and back. 
 
 
 
 HOTEL: $72,216 
 
 
 
 The President’s staff and White House Press Corps stay at one of Hawaii’s oldest and most elegant hotels, the Moana Surfrider. Hawaii Reporter confirmed they are again staying there this year. Besides its stunningly beautiful view of Waikiki, and its traditional architecture, it is one of the most pricey hotels in the state. 
 
 
 
 Government rates are $177 per night, but that only is available during certain times a year. 
 
 
 
 LOCAL TAXPAYER COSTS: $260,000 
 
 
 
 Local police over time for the president’s visit has historically cost Oahu taxpayers $250,000 but may be more expensive this year with the extended vacation. 
 
 
 
 The total cost (based on what is known) for a 17-day round trip vacation to Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is an estimated $4,113,038. 
 
 Out. Of. Touch. Remember, Ronald Reagan stayed in Washington D. C. for Christmas so his security staff could be with their families. ||||| With President Obama and his family headed to Hawaii for a long vacation, the Hawaii Reporter takes a look at the cost to taxpayers and concludes this year's trip is more expensive than previous trips: 
 
 [T]he advanced trip and the cost that comes with it – as much as $100,000 (flight and security) – adds to an already expensive vacation for the taxpayers. Hawaii Reporter research shows the total cost for the President’s visit for taxpayers far exceeded $1.5 million in 2010 – but is even more costly this year because he extended his vacation by three days and the cost for Air Force One travel has jumped since last assessed in 2000. In addition, Hawaii Reporter was able to obtain more specifics about the executive expenditures. The total cost (based on what is known) for the 17-day vacation roundtrip vacation to Hawaii for the President, his family and staff has climbed to more than $4 million. 
 
 Blogger Keith Koffler calculated that First Lady Michelle Obama's decision to leave a few days early without her husband will cost more than $100,000 -- a charge that the White House would not address directly in Friday's daily press briefing. 
 
 "I wanted to ask, isn’t it quite an extravagance -- four people to go in two jets to Hawaii -- particularly given the state of the economy, the state of the budget, and also given the directive that was just put out about limiting air travel by the administration?" one reporter asked Press Secretary Jay Carney. 
 
 "As previous First Ladies have done, they will travel on a military aircraft. As previous First Ladies have done, they will travel separate from the President," Carney said.
– Barack Obama has officially arrived in Hawaii for his family’s annual Christmas getaway to the state, and what a pricey trip it is: The Hawaiian Reporter estimated the cost of the vacation at more than $4 million. The exact cost of the trip is unknown, but based on the military’s most recent estimate that Air Force One costs $181,757 per hour to operate, the paper estimates the cost of the flight alone at $3,271,622, plus another $100,000 or so for Michelle Obama’s early flight down. The trip will be more expensive than past vacations, the paper said, because Obama extended it by three days, and because the price of running Air Force One has jumped. The piece has garnered criticism on conservative sites, and even prompted one reporter to ask Jay Carney if Michelle Obama’s early trip “isn’t quite an extravagance,” according to Politico. Carney said she was traveling alone via military aircraft “as previous first ladies have done."