Obama to make foray into state GOP's turf He visits Orange County as political winds change

WASHINGTON - MARCH 17: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the annual St Patrick's Day lunchen at the U.S. Capitol March 17, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama was joined by the Taoiseach of Ireland Brian Cowen at the event. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh-Pool/Getty Images) less WASHINGTON - MARCH 17: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the annual St Patrick's Day lunchen at the U.S. Capitol March 17, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama was joined by the Taoiseach of Ireland ... more Photo: Pool, Getty Images Photo: Pool, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Obama to make foray into state GOP's turf 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

President Obama's decision to kick off his first official visit to California with a town hall meeting in Orange County says it all: Change really has come to the hard-core Republican stronghold.

"This ain't your father's Orange County," Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House spokesman Roger Salazar said with a laugh about the president's two-day trip to Southern California, which begins today. "It shows just how far we've come in California, just how blue the state has gotten, that Orange County - one of the strongest Republican bastions - is now one of the strongest Democratic bases."

Obama begins his visit with a 4 p.m. town hall meeting at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. In a departure from many political events in the area hosted by former President George W. Bush, tickets were made available to the public.

On Thursday, he will hold another open town hall meeting in Los Angeles to listen to voters' concerns about economic issues. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, campaigning for a slate of budget reform measures on the May 19 special election ballot, also will attend.

The president, underscoring his support of green technologies and environmental issues, also will visit the Edison International Vehicle Electrics Plant, which produces electric cars, in Pomona (Los Angeles County) on Thursday. And then - another departure - he'll head to Burbank to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," marking the first time a sitting president has occupied the guest's chair on a popular late-night television talk show.

Criticism on economy

Obama's decision to hit California, the nation's political ATM and a solidly blue state, comes at a time when the White House is taking intense heat on economic issues - particularly the bonuses paid to executives of bailed-out insurance giant AIG.

He arrives in California with plenty of reminders of the economic problems on the front burner in the state, too, with the jobless rate at 10.1 percent and Southern California particularly hard hit by the foreclosure and housing crisis.

Obama's decision to premiere his chief executive tour in Orange County, a major economic engine in a troubled state, is a statement of its own, some political observers say.

An essay in Newsweek magazine suggests that the bustling county, once the symbol of California's business and consumer-driven energy and optimism, has turned the corner culturally and has lost its conservative luster.

"In a slew of popular TV shows - 'The O.C.,' 'Laguna Beach,' 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' - the county was depicted as a haven for America's empty overclass," the Newsweek essay noted this week. " 'Arrested Development' followed the hapless Bluths, who drink and spend and party even as they squander their fortune. The idea of Orange County, then, was no longer one of smart conservatism, but the worst kinds of Bush-era excess."

Cradle of conservatism

Today, some California experts say the region, the birthplace of Republican conservatism and a place where legions of GOP voters gave crucial, early political boosts to candidates such as Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, is morphing into a very different place.

"It's got a very strong Latino population, a very strong labor presence," said Salazar. "And it's gone from being represented (in Congress) by Bob 'B-1' Dornan," a very conservative voice, to a pair of Democratic Latinas, sisters who now represent nearby districts in the U.S. House of Representatives: Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove (Orange County) and her sister, Rep. Linda Sanchez, of Lakewood (Los Angeles County).

Salazar said Obama's strategy is clear in choosing Southern California for his stage this week.

"I think this is a state that's very important to the president ... especially given the economic circumstances we're facing," he said. "As California goes, so goes the nation. And, if he can help turn the economy around in California, that will cascade all over the country."

Republicans are ready

But some Republicans insist Obama will still have plenty to answer for at those town hall meetings.

"There will be some individuals there asking why AIG got $165 billion and others got foreclosure notices ... how is the regular Californian being helped out (by his policies)?" asked Hector Barajas, spokesman for the state Republican Party. "We just sent out 9,000 pink slips to California teachers - and he's about to go on the Jay Leno show? It just shows the lack of priorities of this president."

While Obama - the head of the Democratic Party - gives a nod to the power and influence of Orange County and Southern California as a key battleground for voters and campaign donations, Republicans appear to be preparing their comeback: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele plans on visiting Southern California in the next two weeks for his own series of town hall sessions, sources said.