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Los Angeles Plays Itself Against Obama

August 17, 2010 By WHC Insider

[picappgallerysingle id=”9561808″]The people of Los Angeles found out there is a price for their idyllic weather and sprawling commute last night: $1 million.

That’s how much a private fundraiser held for President Obama garnered according to TheWrap.  Held at the home of producer John Wells, Hollywood came out to hear the president explain his upcoming legislative agenda and other remarks in the relaxed atmosphere of a walled garden.

Outside, however, a few hundred thousand angry Angelenos were fuming about the closings of major streets starting at 3 p.m. that left commuters stranded in their own cars and stretches of road empty for miles according to LAist. Traffic (and angry commuters) remained stationary until 8 p.m. when roads were reopened, says the Los Angeles Times.

But clogged traffic and angry drivers aren’t anything new when the White House drops in on the West Coast. There was the Joe Biden stop on The Tonight Show in July that, as TheWrap reports, froze LAX for a few hours. Ironically, this is nothing new for the daily commute of most Angelenos; it just happens that Obama gets to play scapegoat to a city otherwise choking itself with freeways, cars and boulevards.

If you live within the Beltway, however, you’re more than used to presidential motorcades and random road closures for diplomats and foreign dignitaries. We thought Los Angeles was supposed to be relaxed!

Even worse: we hear The Weinstein Company waited until 4:15 p.m. to send out the press screening for Piranha 3-D at 5 p.m. So if you want to spin it even further, Obama is the reason why some outlets won’t have a review of the 3-D horror film by Friday! Oh, Los Angeles, we feel for you. We really do.

Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing

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Filed Under: Media Strategy, News Tagged With: Los Angeles, Media, President Obama

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Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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