President Barack Obama has been giving fundraising speeches on the West Coast and apparently causing logistical headaches in the process. Obama’s speaking engagement in Los Angeles on Monday caused considerable irritation for LA commuters:
We have one word for you, Mr. President, the next time you want to sweep into Los Angeles on a weekday late afternoon: helicopter. That way you can avoid the streets the rest of us mere residents must drive to get around.
President Obama’s fundraising mission in Los Angeles may have been a whirlwind trip for him, but it was a tedious slog for thousands of people who found themselves in traffic gridlock from the Westside to Hancock Park.
Angelenos vented on the Los Angeles Times website and on Twitter. LA-based writer Nina Bargiel tweeted, “Dear Obama: I voted for you but my husband CANNOT GET HOME FROM WORK. This does not bode well for next time you need something.”
Headaches continued today with the President’s trip to Washington State to campaign for Sen. Patty Murray. The circumstances this time were not under the President’s control. Around 2 p.m. (PT) Seattleites were startled by twin sonic booms in the vicinity of Boeing Field. The noise was produced by a pair of fighter jets scrambling to intercept a small airplane that entered temporarily restricted airspace over Seattle. Secret Service agents were said to be questioning the pilot, who flew within 8 miles of Air Force One.
All in all, things could have been worse for the President. Joe Biden could have come along for the ride.
