President Obama Arrives For San Francisco Fundraisers
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - President Obama has arrived in the Bay Area for a series of fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.
Air Force One touched down at San Francisco International Airport at 12:39 p.m. The president, wearing a dark suit and a striped tie, exited the plane at 12:49 p.m., waved, then trotted down the stairs to the tarmac.
At the bottom of the stairs he gave a salute, then stopped to greet San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Kamala Harris, chatting with Newsom briefly and patting Harris on the back.
He also greeted a crowd that had assembled for his arrival, giving one person a hug, and waved to members of the media before getting into a black Cadillac and being driven off at 12:57 p.m.
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One of the people he spoke with was 44-year-old Jodi Fisher, of Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, a cancer patient who made headlines recently by giving out free ice cream in her town—something she said was on her "bucket list."
Also on her list was appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and shaking President Obama's hand. Shortly after a local newspaper quoted her saying that, Fisher got a call inviting her to meet the president Thursday.
"I didn't think it was real," she said.
After meeting Obama, Fisher was beaming from ear to ear.
"I couldn't believe he knew my name," she said. "That was exciting."
The president's first stop will be at a private reception at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill at 2 p.m.
Obama will then head to a private fundraising dinner at a Pacific Heights home, and then give a speech at an 8 p.m. fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center featuring a performance by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
Among those in attendance at Thursday night's event will be 15 excited teenagers from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, spokeswoman Brittany Johnson said.
The 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds were selected to see the president based on their achievements in school and leadership roles they have taken on in the community, Johnson said.
"They're absolutely thrilled," Johnson said.
Several activist groups plan to protest Obama's visit.
"Frostpaw," a polar bear mascot for the environmental protection group Center for Biological Diversity, will appear outside the Masonic Center to call on the Obama administration to halt oil drilling in the Arctic.
Medical marijuana activists also plan to gather outside the Masonic Center as part of a nationwide day of protest against the administration's crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, organizers said.
Activists from CodePink, World Can't Wait SF, and the Occupy movement have also indicated they will protest outside that event.
Obama was scheduled to spend the night in San Francisco Thursday night before departing for Washington state Friday morning. His visit to San Francisco followed fundraising stops in Los Angeles.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
