Spanish holiday

Likening Michelle Obama to Marie Antoinette seems harsh, yet there’s no question there’s some political danger to the first lady in her current Spanish vacation with 9-year-old daughter Sasha. Exhibit A is a New York Daily News article comparing Mrs. O to the ill-fated French queen. The White House calls the trip “private,” which suggests the Obamas are paying for all of the reported $375,000 cost, including travel on a government 757, meals, accommodations at a swank hotel — perhaps even the Spanish cops who cordoned off about 100 yards of beach for Michelle, Sasha and their entourage. But, hey, it’s their money, right? Even so, the political backwash is a perception of extravagance at a time millions of Americans are out of work — and especially after the first family already has vacationed in Maine, Massachusetts, Hawaii and other venues during the past year and a half. Again, they’re entitled to spend their dough however they want, but that won’t shield them from criticism — and comparisons with President Bush, whose general idea of good downtime was whacking brush at his Texas ranch and turning in before 9.