Obama Defends Administration At Boxer Fundraiser

President Barack Obama defended himself against Republican Party criticism Tuesday night during a speech at a Fairmont Hotel fundraiser aimed at raising money for Senator Barbara Boxer's re-election campaign in San Francisco.

Air Force One touched down at about 5:12 p.m., marking the beginning of the president's two-day visit to the Bay Area.

After exiting the plane, Obama shook hands with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, waved and was whisked away by his motorcade, which consisted of about two dozen vehicles.

The president's motorcade caused a number of traffic tie-up en route to downtown San Francisco as his police escort made a path on already congested freeways. For a brief time, authorities closed I-280 to traffic to accommodate the motorcade.

Obama attended two fund-raising events in San Francisco Tuesday evening. The first event was held at the Fairmont Hotel, while the second was a smaller dinner party at the Getty Mansion in Pacific Heights.

Tuesday evening, Mr. Obama spoke for 30 minutes at the fund-raising event for Senator Boxer.

The President defended himself against Republican criticism, saying his administration has taken the wheel of a vehicle the GOP has already wrecked.

“Here you have folks who drive a car into a ditch. We're in the mud pulling the car out and then they're sitting there drinking Slurpees, saying ‘You’re not pulling it out fast enough,” said the President to the applause and laughter of the audience. “Then we get the car out of the ditch, and they want the keys back. You can't have the keys. You don't know how to drive. You can't have the keys.”

Senator Boxer sounding a similar theme, saying her opponents in the senate race were calling on Republican heavyweights.

Outside the Fairmont Hotel, about 300 protestors voiced their concerns on everything from war to the deficit to putting solar panels on the White House. The crowd started gathering outside the Fairmont at around 3 p.m.

“All I want to ask him is when will he end the war,” said Renee Davis of Code Pink.

Answer, or Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, was among the groups protesting on Mason Street.

The group wants the government to seize BP's assets in the wake of the oil spill off the Gulf Coast, spokesman Richard Becker said.

ANSWER is also demanding unconditional amnesty for immigrants and Becker said they want to see an end to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because "it's a fundamental cause of the economic crisis."

Qurpa Maki, a Bolivian immigrant who lives in San Francisco, said he was protesting today to express his disdain and opposition to anti-immigrant groups, saying, "People need to be treated human first."

"Frostpaw," a man dressed in a polar bear suit representing the Center for Biological Diversity, was in attendance and planned to ask Obama to suspend drilling in the Arctic this summer.

Some demonstrators carried a large pink banner reading, "Climate Change, the Only Change We Get?"

The East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy planned to ask Obama to keep his campaign promises of immigration reform and to change or rescind executive orders and programs that force local law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration officials.

The alliance planned to hold a prayer vigil and display a community altar with photos of families who have been separated by immigration policies.

Protest organizers acknowledged it was unlikely any of the groups will have direct access to Obama, but said they hope to inspire grassroots activism and draw attention to their causes.

Bay Area Patriots, the local branch of the Tea Party movement, also protested outside the hotel.

“Tax and spend. Tax and spend,” said Tea Party member Dan Hanlon. “It's time for them to go.”

Some protesters brought posters of the president wearing a Hitler mustache.

They said it was because Mr. Obama's fiscal policies are similar to those of Nazi Germany. Immigration and the oil spill were also hot issues among protesters.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown attended the event. He said those who were frustrated at the pace of change from Washington weren't paying attention.

“You look at the achievements of the last 18 months and what boxer has achieved in the last 18 years and you can't be critical of them,” said Brown.

Those KTVU spoke to coming out of the Fairmont Hotel fundraiser seemed happy with what they heard.

“I thought it was great,” said Burlingame resident Margaret Moriarity. “He gave a good speech as he usually does.”

The President acknowledged the protesters in his remarks, saying that's one of the great things about the First Amendment. The President's motorcade left Nob Hill just after 7:30 p.m en route to the second scheduled fundraising even of the evening.