President Obama made My Job Easier Tonight

All Presidents travel; all Presidents go to fundraisers in "friendly" cities; and all Presidents need security. 

I have lived in DC and NY, so Presidential motorcades are old hat for me.  Like Rosty, I respect the position (hence, I will call Obama depending on what he does, "Harold Saxon," or "Zaphod Beeblebrox," and I make it a rule never to go after politicians families). But what Presidential staff (more on this further down the post) shuts down Los Angeles for 5 hours angering everybody from the East Side to the Westside?

Tonight I was supposed to meet up with Gonzo Journalist Robert Mc Cain and the talented and charming Pamela Geller (who was the chosen speaker of the Southland Fundraiser).  My Mom ended up on the Eastside below Olympic and I had to pick her up.  A trip taking 10 minutes (at most) became a long, long wait.  And the crazy thing, her bus was within sight of the Bus stop close to her house. 

So, from what I understand, Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd and Wilshire Blvd were shut down.  And so was La Brea and a lot of East Side streets.  To top it off, the local police doing their job had no control over where they were.  There were many people who were sick or just trying to get home who were inconvenienced tonight. 

Now, who deserves the blame?

Not President Obama.  Nor the secret service.  And in the duel between Federal vs. local, the POTUS is a federal, so local officials rarely have a say. 

The blame actually starts with John Wells who decided to have it on a Monday, during Rush hour.  Look at his guest list.

Who is in charge of the POTUS visit? The Advance Office. 

Let me read you some of Bradley Patterson's book, The White House Staff:

"Forward planning for domestic political trips may be done four to eight weeks in advance but is more likely compressed into a shorter lead time....As soon as the desired message is framed and agreed to, the Advance Office review the choices for Domestic travel....What already scheduled local event could the President join, transforming into an illustration of his own policy initiative? Local and State calenders are scanned...Invitations are searched, private suggestions reviewed....If the President is campaigning, all the processes here are melded together: the president may do twelve to eighteen events in one week,

"For domestic....'site surveys' would be undertaken perhaps six weeks ahead of time, and 'pre-advance' teams sent out weeks beforehand...,All arrangements can be more flexible; some can be consummated with only hours to spare.  The final 'go' decision...has sometimes been made as little as two weeks before the event -- or less..."

 -- The White House Staff, Bradley Patterson, Jr., pages 242-243

And a few years ago, when I was trying to bring President Bush to Burbank, I spoke with the Political office (which works in tandem with the Advance team on political trips, such as tonight), and here is what I was told:

"We want to bring the President to town with major publicity at the event and no problems for people not going to the event.  Votes and political capitol are lost if that happens," 

My friend at the White House Political office has moved to other venues, but his words surely ring true today.

Now what do I do?

I publicize ways for the CAGOP and LAGOP to win in my hometown of Los Angeles.  I am the guy who says "If Obama can't fix an oil spill, how can he do Health Care?"  and now I get to say, (and I expect all my candidate friends should say it too):

"If President Obama and his staff are so smart, why couldn't they get through Los Angeles without causing havoc?"  

Did the Advance Staff ever think about taking the 10 Freeway to get across town? Or even care about those stuck in their cars during Rush Hour for 5 hours? I think not.  

My question: Has a Presidential event ever inconvenienced you? Tell me the tale.  

UPDATE 8/17/10 10:05AM PST: Mulitple links!  Thanks to Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, Robert Mc Cain , American Spectator Blog, and Memeorandum!  I still want to meet the great Pamela Geller though :{