# Civic Matters > Ask Anything About OKC >  Obama's Visit - Where is he staying?

## soonerliberal

Where is Obama staying tonight?

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## G.Walker

> Where is Obama staying tonight?


Well, the Skirvin is the best hotel in downtown, so more than likely there. But maybe not, since a lot of people would expect him to stay there. I wouldn't be surprised if stays at a furnished show home in Gallardia or something, that would through people off, and its unexpected, or the Governor's mansion?

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## adaniel

> Where is Obama staying tonight?


Colcord. Just got out of a meeting with someone who is hosting folks for a business meeting and they mentioned a lot of Secret Service was there.

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## stlokc

A lot of times presidents stay in the private homes of supporters. Less disruptive and easier to secure. I would say if Obama has a high dollar contributor, especially in a slightly more secluded location, that would be a good guess.

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## BoulderSooner

> The White House specifically mentioned to expect delays if you were staying at the Colcord.


link?

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## Bellaboo

I think it was in the paper today that he's at the Colcord. Said that the south bound Robinson in front of it was blocked off.

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## MDot

> I think it was in the paper today that he's at the Colcord. Said that the south bound Robinson in front of it was blocked off.


Yeah, I read it last night on NewsOK.com on the main page and I seen it in one of the subsections...maybe in the Business??

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## OSUMom

That's just what we need.  Our last few remaining streets in DT shutdown.  Kidding!!!   Well, sorta.

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## Bellaboo

> That's just what we need.  Our last few remaining streets in DT shutdown.  Kidding!!!   Well, sorta.


They are warning about the street closures for tonights basketball game.

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## MikeOKC

I've learned some interesting things from a friend that *does know* about all of this...

1. The hotels were once always announced way before the date of a presidential visit - no longer. Sometimes, "decoy" hotels are secured while a more discreet security check takes place at the actual hotel. Sometimes the media is told of one place - when it's actually another. Then again, sometimes they stay where they announce. It's a game of chess to outwit those who would attempt to harm the president.

2. Public outings...rarely announced ahead of time. If Obama goes to the Thunder game - he will show up, in most all cases the public is not told in advance he will be in attendance, though the venue will have been thoroughly secured. But I was told these are the biggest tests for the Secret Service and what gets their blood flowing faster...this president loves spontaneity and it presents the toughest challenges.

3. Presidential vehicles...sometimes they do, in fact, use "decoy" vehicles complete with the flags, etc.  

4. Don't believe anything in the media leading up to a presidential visit. Many times routes are changed, hotels look secured by a swarm of Secret Service (and local police) and the motorcade takes a back route to another hotel entirely. 

My friend says everything has changed in the past 5 years or so as presidential outings are far fewer than they used to be and present more challenges than before. That's why so much is kept quiet even to the extent of obfuscation. Fascinating, actually.

And, I should say, he stressed there's nothing really secret about all this. The traveling press corps knows all of this and these things become known so it's no real secret. But things have changed and the way they handle presidential visits are much different than just a few years back.

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## MikeOKC

Sorry, Have no clue why it wants to put the pic in the post *and* as an insert. 

If this is anything close to being correct, no Thunder game in the cards for the president tonight. Game starts at 8:00.

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## BoulderSooner

> Sorry, Have no clue why it wants to put the pic in the post *and* as an insert. 
> 
> If this is anything close to being correct, no Thunder game in the cards for the president tonight. Game starts at 8:00.


game starts at 7

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## MikeOKC

> game starts at 7


I was looking at eastern time without thinking about it. Thanks! All the more reason there will be no Thunder game for the president.

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## SoonerBoy18

It would great if he stayed at Gaillardia

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## rcjunkie

If he's staying at a private residence, my $$$ on Mike Turpin's home.

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## Easy180

Probably stay with his bestie Fallin

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## Pete

Steve's reporting he doesn't land until almost 10PM and is staying at the downtown Sheraton.

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## Spartan

I would go ahead and guess that for a visit to Oklahoma, we'll be getting the works in terms of secret service. It's a shame, but I wouldn't even be surprised if the security risk to him here was one reason this is his first official visit to Oklahoma.

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## MikeOKC

> Steve's reporting he doesn't land until almost 10PM and is staying at the downtown Sheraton.


That's what I posted in post #12. As for where he's staying...The Colcord had SS and local police around it today and then TV reporters said they were spotted at a couple of other hotels as well, which fits what I wrote in my post about how I was told they use obfuscation. They no longer announce days in advance where the President is staying like they used to.

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## Spartan

Very interesting. Well, I hope that the man gets to stay at the Colcord, he deserves it in my opinion. I'd hate for him to have to stay the night in the Sheraton and miss out on the Colcord all for the sake of some security schemes.

Or, maybe he's outsmarted us all, and he'll wind up in the presidential suite at the Skirvin.

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## jn1780

I wonder if he'll get a private tour of the top of Devon tower if he stays at the Concord.

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## Spartan

I really just don't think he'll be experiencing much of anything in our fair city, just on his way from New Mexico to Cushing. I guess he heard downtown OKC has slightly nicer hotels to stay the night at than Cushing.

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## lasomeday

He is staying at the Sheraton and he is at the game tonight.

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## jn1780

> I really just don't think he'll be experiencing much of anything in our fair city, just on his way from New Mexico to Cushing. I guess he heard downtown OKC has slightly nicer hotels to stay the night at than Cushing.


Yeah, I only said that because it would take less than 15 mins to walk over to Devon and take an elevator to the top. I often do that when I get to my hotel; go to the very top and stare out the window. LOL

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## jn1780

> He is staying at the Sheraton and he is at the game tonight.


He's not here yet.  Unless he flew in secretly.  Some Oklahoma residents may have harsh feelings about him, but this isn't Iraq or Afghanistan. LOL

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## MikeOKC

> He is staying at the Sheraton and he is at the game tonight.


Who said he was at the game? He isn't due to land until 9:50 at Tinker.

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## Spartan

I think it would have been a smart PR move to go to the Thunder game--there's no way he will ever get this state's vote, but he can at least diminish our oppositional fervor by showing us he's human and likes basketball. Most of this Okie fervor is centered around this idea that he's not human, not a U.S. citizen, etc--a bunch of ridiculous, irrelevant notions. So perhaps going to a basketball game here would be the only way to have a "break through" with the Okies..lol

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## lasomeday

I talked to a security guard.  I guess his flight was delayed.  He was supposed to get in at 4PM and go to the game.  They had streets blocked off at 1PM downtown with massive amounts of secret service.

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## lasomeday

> I think it would have been a smart PR move to go to the Thunder game--there's no way he will ever get this state's vote, but he can at least diminish our oppositional fervor by showing us he's human and likes basketball. Most of this Okie fervor is centered around this idea that he's not human, not a U.S. citizen, etc--a bunch of ridiculous, irrelevant notions. So perhaps going to a basketball game here would be the only way to have a "break through" with the Okies..lol


Really?  I think we all know he is human?  He just wants the government in charge of everything.

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## MikeOKC

> I talked to a security guard.  I guess his flight was delayed.  He was supposed to get in at 4PM and go to the game.  They had streets blocked off at 1PM downtown with massive amounts of secret service.


If you look at post #12 in this thread, the official schedule has him arriving at 9:50pm. He wasn't supposed to get in at 4:00 and go to the Thunder game. He had an event at the Copper Mountain Solar 1 Facility in Boulder City, NV during the 4:00 (cst) hour. Air Force One doesn't get delayed like a commercial flight. The streets downtown have been blocked off since last night, there are many SS agents in the team that travels many hours ahead of the president.

"L.A. Some Day" -- when is that day coming? You'll fit right in. (j/k.......................sorta)

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## Spartan

> He flies United?


Truth.

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## metro

> He is staying at the Sheraton and he is at the game tonight.


Yeah, he's at the game before his plane lands.....

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## lasomeday

> If you look at post #12 in this thread, the official schedule has him arriving at 9:50pm. He wasn't supposed to get in at 4:00 and go to the Thunder game. He had an event at the Copper Mountain Solar 1 Facility in Boulder City, NV during the 4:00 (cst) hour. Air Force One doesn't get delayed like a commercial flight. The streets downtown have been blocked off since last night, there are many SS agents in the team that travels many hours ahead of the president.
> 
> "L.A. Some Day" -- when is that day coming? You'll fit right in. (j/k.......................sorta)


Yeah, it will be a while.  It doesn't mean what you think it means by the way.

I just stated what the police officer told me.  I just know they diverted traffic and made a huge headache for those of us downtown all day!  It would have been pretty cool to see him at the game.

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## metro

> It looks like he is staying at the Sheraton: http://newsok.com/article/3659656


As stated in one of the other threads, it could well be a security decoy. Typical secret service tactic, he could be anywhere downtown, or at a private donors house.. Most likely at Colcord, Skirvin, or Sheraton. I believe the Renaissance has hosted Presidents as well? In the end, it doesn't really matter what hotel.

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## jn1780

> It looks like he is staying at the Sheraton: http://newsok.com/article/3659656


From that link you can see how they used the snow plows as a barricade. Looks like those the new snow plows found some use this year after all. lol

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## SoonerBoy18

Ironically, Governor Mary Fallin is not in the state of Oklahoma. Hmmm...

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## ljbab728

> I think it would have been a smart PR move to go to the Thunder game--there's no way he will ever get this state's vote, but he can at least diminish our oppositional fervor by showing us he's human and likes basketball.


In a TV interview after greeting the President, Mayor Mick said that Obama mentioned the game tonight and already knew that the Thunder had won.

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## MDot

> Ironically, Governor Mary Fallin is not in the state of Oklahoma. Hmmm...


Really?? Why hasn't someone reported this yet? LOL

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## MDot

> In a TV interview after greeting the President, Mayor Mick said that Obama mentioned the game tonight and already knew that the Thunder had won.


I'm betting he checked his ScoreCenter App right before he got off the plane. LOL that's what I was doing (except I was in my car, not Air Force 1).

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## venture

> Ironically, Governor Mary Fallin is not in the state of Oklahoma. Hmmm...


Neither is the Lt Gov Todd Lamb. I think the state secretary of commerce or something is the official rep of the the state to the President during this visit.

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## corpsman

> Neither is the Lt Gov Todd Lamb. I think the state secretary of commerce or something is the official rep of the the state to the President during this visit.


For sure Dave Lopez is accompanying the president to Cushing. He is Oklahoma's Secretary of Commerce

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## adaniel

> Neither is the Lt Gov Todd Lamb. I think the state secretary of commerce or something is the official rep of the the state to the President during this visit.


Very tacky and disrespectful IMO. Even Jan Brewer, the governor of AZ, managed to greet him on the runway during a visit to Phoenix and I seriously doubt they are BFFS. 

Kudos to Mick Cornett, who probably doesn't agree with Obama on a lot things, put politics aside and greet the president.

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## jn1780

> Very tacky and disrespectful IMO. Even Jan Brewer, the governor of AZ, managed to greet him on the runway during a visit to Phoenix and I seriously doubt they are BFFS. 
> 
> Kudos to Mick Cornett, who probably doesn't agree with Obama on a lot things, put politics aside and greet the president.


Give me a break. I don't care what the political afficialiations a president or governor has. Your telling me our state government officials should completely change their schedules for a presidental visit that was only announced last week?

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## jn1780

> And just to be clear, a lot of people do care about his political affiliations.  I was talking to a state rep as the President landed.  If he wasn't so far away at the time, he would have made the drive.  He said point blank that no one wanted to "touch it with a 10 foot pole".  It was clearly political.


Fair enough. I guess if it is political you would think Obama would find it insulting that they waste energy and resources just to say "hi". LOL

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## adaniel

> Give me a break. I don't care what the political afficialiations a president or governor has. Your telling me our state government officials should completely change their schedules for a presidental visit that was only announced last week?


Absolutely.

If Mitt Romney came to the state Ms. Fallin would would have bent over backwards to change her schedule.

She is just a catty, passive-aggressive drama queen who knows stunning disrespect like this plays well among the voters of this state.

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## OSUMom

> Absolutely.
> 
> If Mitt Romney came to the state Ms. Fallin would would have bent over backwards to change her schedule.



Wasn't she already on a plane going out of the country when she found out he was coming?  Or was that original article wrong?  Kinda hard to change your plans at that point.

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## MikeLucky

> Absolutely.
> 
> If Mitt Romney came to the state Ms. Fallin would would have bent over backwards to change her schedule.
> 
> She is just a catty, passive-aggressive drama queen who knows stunning disrespect like this plays well among the voters of this state.


Sounds like she's a good politician then...  Isn't the point of being a politician to support the things that your constituency values?

And by that token, why do you think Obama is here?  It's because he knows the one thing that can possibly hurt his campaign is high gas prices... and suddenly he's going to fast track a pipeline and publicize it in some of his weakest states...

They are all politicians... It's how this works.

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## Bullbear

> Sounds like she's a good politician then...  Isn't the point of being a politician to support the things that your constituency values?
> 
> And by that token, why do you think Obama is here?  It's because he knows the one thing that can possibly hurt his campaign is high gas prices... and suddenly he's going to fast track a pipeline and publicize it in some of his weakest states...
> 
> They are all politicians... It's how this works.


Publicizing in your weakest states doesn't win elections.  there isn't a chance of Oklahoma voting democrat in a presidential election so nobody can say he was here for votes. His speech also did not promise the pipeline to reduce gas prices.  But yes EVERYTHING a politician does is Politics.. I don't believe anyone thinks otherwise.

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## OKCTalker

> Absolutely.
> 
> If Mitt Romney came to the state Ms. Fallin would would have bent over backwards to change her schedule.
> 
> She is just a catty, passive-aggressive drama queen who knows stunning disrespect like this plays well among the voters of this state.


Today's DO reported that Republican Pres. Bush visited Oklahoma in September 2008, and was not met by either Gov. Henry or Lt. Gov. Askins, both Democrats. 

Drama indeed.

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## soonerguru

> Wasn't she already on a plane going out of the country when she found out he was coming?  Or was that original article wrong?  Kinda hard to change your plans at that point.


No. Her communications people tried to suggest this, but she left for PR on Sunday and the Associated Press announced Obama's visit the previous Thursday. So she knew.

I don't think she should have canceled her family vacation, I think she just should have someone -- anyone -- to greet the President on behalf of our state. The good people of Cushing, Oklahoma showed more class than that petty woman, and should have been in charge of the Air Force One greeting. 

Hats off to Mayor Cornett for showing class and representing our city well. Mary Fallin revealed herself to be a second-rate public official.

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## Cocaine

Yeah I also think it was tacky that Fallin wasn't here to great the president. It doesn't matter what his political party is he's still the president.

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## metro

> Yeah I also think it was tacky that Fallin wasn't here to great the president. It doesn't matter what his political party is he's still the president.


Says someone named Cocaine. Haven't you Progressives come up with a new attack, we've hashed this one out a dozen times. She was in Puerto Rico for crying out loud, not to mention it was a publicity stunt so Obama can support Buffets money train that is even more Eco unfriendly. We're you equally upset when Democratic Governor Brad Henry was in town when Bush came and didn't greet him?

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## Bellaboo

> Says someone named Cocaine. Haven't you Progressives come up with a new attack, we've hashed this one out a dozen times. She was in Puerto Rico for crying out loud, not to mention it was a publicity stunt so Obama can support Buffets money train that is even more Eco unfriendly. We're you equally upset when Democratic Governor Brad Henry was in town when Bush came and didn't greet him?


Metro, at least you spelled 'greet' correctly....................if they wanted high up state representatives to be present, then they shouldn't drop in for political manipulation at the last minute. Enough said.

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## RadicalModerate

So maybe she wasn't there to grate the president?

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## boscorama

Ahem ... when it's President O it has to be great, don't you know?  What a guy.

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