Here comes the President

And KATU in Portland has started a blog about the events in Portland, and Rob is on top of things as well. It looks like a mess in Portland — I’m curious as to what’s going to happen when they hit Bend. Unfortunately, we don’t have nearly the quality media outlets around here, but keep on top of Bend.com for the best coverage (I just hope Barney brings a digital camera with him).

Update @ 1:35: President is in the air and on his way to Central Oregon. The reception in Central Oregon should be much warmer than the one he got in Portland — Central Oregon is, by and large, a very Republican area, but there are still bound to be protesters. Rumor has it that the one-mile strip of road between the fairgrounds and the airport is lined with American flags, but I’m not in Redmond to verify that.

I also heard on the radio that they did indeed sell 500 tickets to the $2,000-per-plate lunch in Portland, raising Bush a cool $1-million. Must be nice to raise that kind of cash after only being in the state for a few hours.

Update @ 3:15: Bush landing in Redmond about an hour ago. By now he’s probably taken the tour over the fire, and is about to give a speech to the folks there at the Fairgrounds. He was welcomed warmly in Central Oregon, though there is a small group of protesters setting up shop at the fairgrounds. Meanwhile, back in Portland, the protesters aren’t giving up and are still making a mess out of things.

Update @ 4:45: The motorcade just went flying by my office here. They’re headed out towards the Crosswater, so I’m assuming he’s staying there (as the Resort owns a few homes out there).