The University of Virginia has declined a campaign visit from Barack Obama, who is looking for a venue from which to promote his re-election bid for President of the United States.
The scheduled date would coincide with the second day of classes, and require them to shut down adjacent buildings that would cancel 186 classes to accommodate the campaign visit. While this is a cost in and off itself, my favorite line from the list of reasons is this one…
In addition to the disruption to classes, the University would have to bear the full cost of security — a substantial and open-ended expenditure of staff time and money.
There you have it. Sorry Mr. Obama. We can’t afford to make in-kind contributions in the form of paying the expense for security and other accommodations so you can campaign here.
New Hampshire towns should approach it the same way when it is a campaign stop. And might I suggest you ask for cash in advance?
