Tempest in a Tea Kettle

Prince George County, Virginia is still miffed at POTUS. Why? Well, let’s put aside for the moment that this, this urban ChicagoHawaiian…..Democrat took Virginia blue in 08; that he is well … different and other; and ….. shhhh.

The most recent upsets at President Obama is that he visited Prince George County in March 2012 and cost the county $38,500 in overtime and construction costs.

His was the first visit to Prince George County of a sitting President since Taft visited in 1909 to dedicate the Pennslyvania Monument in the Battlefield National Park.

In coordinating President Obama’s visit,  it was clear that traffic and crowd control of unusual levels were needed as well as the presence of emergency medical first responders.  Inadvertently the visit also tested the ability of the first responders in the area localities to plan and execute the duties required of all involved.

Prince George also had to clear a parking and bus staging area to shuttle the invited attendees to the Rolls-Royce facility where POTUS would be speaking.

Here was President Obama highlighting an innovative marriage of manufacturing, research, higher education interests in little “ole”  Prince George County.

But unfortunately, what was not known to his staff and speech writers was that Prince George is separate from nearby Petersburg and that cities in Virginia are independent of the surrounding or nearby counties. He made repeated references to Petersburg, its eateries or at least to Longstreet’s and to elected Petersburg officials.

That sat sourly  in the stomachs of Prince George officials who were not even mentioned, so sourly that Supervisor Carmichael wrote a long, literate and polite letter to the White House about the gaffe.

Coming back to the $38,500 … it might sit more lightly as a cost of economic development and international recognition had the President gotten the locality thing right and extolled  Henry Parker, who has been on the Prince George Board of Supervisors since Taft’s visit in 1909.

Speaking of Taft … Xena wonders how much his Presidential visit cost.