President Obama visits Southern California
While waiting to get good seats at an Orange County town hall meeting with the president, a game of cards helps pass the time for, from left, Sara Carrion of Whittier, Monica Salas of Norwalk, Alva Garcia of Whittier, Andrea Morales of San Pedro and Carrie Biely of Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Calista Gober, 4, of Anaheim Hills, and her uncle, Joseph Perry, while away the hours. They were among those waiting in long, overnight lines to get a ticket and then a good seat at the Orange County Fairgrounds. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Patricia D’souza, of
Air Force One arrives at Long Beach Airport on Wednesday with President Obama aboard. The president is on his first trip to California since the election. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Air Force One taxis to a stop in Long Beach. On his two-day West Coast trip, the president is scheduled to appear at a town hall meeting in Orange County, a town hall meeting in Los Angeles at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and a visit to an electric vehicle plant in Pomona. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The president waves as he leaves the aircraft. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Members of the military salute Obama at Long Beach Airport. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Construction workers pause from their work to watch the president’s arrival. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
The president steps aboard Marine One for the flight to Orange County. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
President Obama meets guests at a town hall event at Orange County Fairgrounds. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
Attendees cheer the arrival of
President Obama answers questions during Wednesday’s town hall meeting in Costa Mesa. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Audience members raise their hands to ask the president questions. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
President Obama takes questions at the town hall meeting. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
In his address at the O.C. Fairgrounds the president referred to the bonuses paid to Wall Street executives, saying, “But these bonuses, outrageous as they are, are a symptom of a much larger problem. And that’s the system and culture that made them possible -- a culture where people made enormous sums of money, taking irresponsible risks that have now put the entire economy at risk. So we’re going to do everything we can to deal with these specific bonuses. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Dwaine Webber, 45, of Norwalk an unemployed auto worker, had this to say: “Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. Last October I lost my job after 13 years. I was laid off. Now when I look for a job, people tell me that I have a felony from 20 years ago -- I can’t get no work. I have a family to support. What do I do?” (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
An audience member trains a camera on the president. (Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)
President Obama rolls up his sleeves at Wednesday’s town hall. “Because of the massive deficit we inherited and the costs of this financial crisis, we are going through our books line by line so that we can cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term and reduce it by $2 trillion over the next decade,” he said. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Supporters reach out to touch the president at the Orange County Fairgrounds. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
