Bush Due in O.C. for Campaign Luncheon

For his first visit to Orange County in a year, President Bush will fly to the Los Alamitos air base this evening, spend the night at an undisclosed location and attend a luncheon in Irvine to raise reelection money.

Police said the president’s visit to the Hyatt Regency Irvine about noontime Friday may disrupt traffic. Those doing business in the Park Plaza complex at Main Street and Union will face street closures and checkpoints.

Tom Fuentes, chairman of Orange County’s Republican Party, said he expects Bush’s visit to “churn the spirit” of local party members.

“This visit speaks to the fact that Orange County is a bulwark of Republican dollars and energy,” he said.

In addition to loyalists at the Bush-Cheney 2004 fund-raiser, as many as 1,000 antiwar protesters are expected to gather outside the hotel.

“There is a lot of anger right now,” said Chuck Anderson, a member of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. “There are people dying every day in Iraq.” He said protesters from as far Ventura and San Diego counties will carry signs such as “Stop Mad Cowboy Disease” and “Bring All the Troops Home Now.”

Fuentes said he isn’t surprised that not everyone will be happy to see the president.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a presidential function where there hasn’t been some folks with beards out on the streets,” he said.

On Friday morning, Bush will tour the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area and remark on the National Parks Legacy Project.

During the president’s last Orange County visit, he met community leaders in Santa Ana and attended a fund-raiser for then-gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr. in Dana Point.