Daily News ran a story the other day that at this year's D-Day celebration in France, a last minute platform was built for the President's entry at a cost of $100,000.

White House aides advancing President Bush's Normandy visit ordered the Pentagon to erect a $100,000 platform for his entry into a U.S. military cemetery, well-placed sources told the Daily News.

American taxpayers picked up the six-figure tab for the red carpet, walkway and artificial island hurriedly built over a memorial pool so that Bush and French President Jacques Chirac could walk in style to the dais for last week's ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

What's even more amazing tho is how much the whole event cost:

The expensive choreography was a drop in the bucket compared with the overall cost of the U.S. government's participation in D-Day celebrations in France - estimated at $30 million by knowledgeable officials.

That sum includes about $24 million in direct costs like building roads, highways, parking lots and other infrastructure in Normandy, as well as $6 million in value-added taxes paid to the French government.

$30M for D-Day celebrations? You have to be kidding me. That's absolutely crazy! And we paid for this? To top it off, Reagan had enough nerve to die that weekend so the event didn't even get all that much press. wow. Why didn't France pay for this?!?