At a town hall Wednesday during which people spoke of their lost jobs and their fears of economic problems to come, President Obama painted his ambitious policy agenda as the antidote.
Obama spoke to a crowd of about 1,300 during his first stop on a two-day swing through California, aiming to mobilize public support for his multi-trillion-dollar budget. In a state coping with job losses and home foreclosures, he quickly got a taste of how the sour economy had upended lives.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday, March 20, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 2 inches; 67 words Type of Material: Correction
Obama town hall: An article in Thursday's Section A about President Obama's town hall meeting in Orange County said former Toyota employee Dwaine Webber had been laid off after 13 years. Webber, who had told the president during the town hall on Wednesday that he had been laid off, on Thursday said he actually took a voluntary buyout package in October. Toyota confirmed that in a statement.
Dwaine Webber, 45, of Norwalk told of how he had lost a position at Toyota after 13 years and couldn't find a job because of a two-decade-old felony conviction. A teacher told Obama that she and a colleague -- who had won a teacher of the year award -- had just gotten pink slips.
Obama addressed the crowd with a mix of wonky detail about the roots of the economic collapse (even using the term "securitized mortgage instruments" at one point) and a promise that recovery was in the offing. Fielding a range of questions, he outlined his thinking on immigration, bank loans and school class size.
"I can't tell you how long it's going to take or what obstacles we'll face along the way, but I can promise you this: There will be brighter days ahead, here in California and all across America," the president said. "But that's only going to happen if we pull together and focus on the big things -- focus on the long term."
Some people had camped out overnight at the Orange County Fairgrounds to see the 44th president. When he arrived at 3:45 p.m., those who had packed into the sweltering auditorium stood and chanted: "Obama! Obama!"
The president tried to get them to sit, finally saying: "We're going to be here a while."
At one point, as the president was summarizing his budget plans, a man shouted: "I love you, Obama!"
"I love you back!" the president replied.
But as Obama strives to build public support for his agenda, he is finding that the $165 million in bonuses paid to AIG executives amount to a huge distraction.
All week, the White House has been awash in questions on the topic. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has been criticized for not using the government's leverage as AIG's de facto owner to block the bonuses earlier. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) called on Geithner to resign Wednesday.
In the face of the swelling backlash, the White House has struggled to keep its agenda on track. And before he took questions in Costa Mesa, Obama acknowledged public anger.
