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Anytime a President has arrived in Los Angeles, traffic has been inconvenienced. But today's afternoon rush hour visit of Obama seems to have had a magic touch in that really unmagical way. Angelenos have been sharing their experiences from the road, some funny, some reeking of exasperation. Here are a just a few of their stories.
Update: Writer Hunter Walker from The Wrap was caught in the gridlock and pulled off the road to file a story at Starbucks. " Those of you who are familiar with Los Angeles know that closing these three streets mean the entire city will be gridlocked. On LaPeer and Olympic, I was literally barricaded in on a small, residential block for over an hour with at least fifty people for over an hour," he wrote. "Going through this gridlock is extra-painful because I know it is due to partisan fundraising rather than state business."
Update #2: Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Weisman was embedded in the Obama motorcade as the pool reporter. He paints a rosy picture of the situation.
Motorcade departed at 6:10 Pacific time from the Beverly Hilton, speeding down Century City and Olympic boulevards, where Angelenos snapped cell phone pictures and waved. One held a small sign proclaiming, "We need jobs," but this was a friendly crowd. Motorcade turned onto Hudson Avenue, passed lush lawns and lovely houses to the home of John Wells, producer of television shows such as West Wing, ER and China Beach. The 10-minute ride brought us to a landscaped front yard that was more English garden then lawn, with topiaries, paths, and a fountain with a large great blue heron spouting water.
Update #3: An LAPD source tells LAist the Secret Service did not want any traffic or street closure plan published or spoken about. That seems to be standard operating procedure, but in the past, things went much more smoothly. Word on the street is that someone within the Secret Service messed up big time.
