President Obama Makes First Visit To Chicago Campaign Headquarters

Press not allowed to observe President mingling with staff...
Newly arrived in Chicago, Ill. late on Wednesday afternoon, President Obama made an "unscheduled" stop at the nerve center of his re-election effort, the headquarters for Obama for America. His press pool was not allowed in to observe the President greeting the hardworking staffers working in the Prudential building; they were held in their traveling van in the underground garage. The White House instead issued a statement about the President's ten minutes of handshaking and high fiving. (Above: Campaign headquarters were "newly redecorated" with this mural of the President and Mrs. Obama, according to the blurb that accompanies this photo posted to OFA's Flickr on Jan. 5, 2011)

Gaggling aboard Air Force One, where the press was served Philly Cheesteaks, French fries and Brownie Bites for a late lunch, White House spokesman Josh Earnest insisted that campaigning is not foremost on the President's mind. He repeated what White House officials have said for months: While the Campaign operation is in high gear, “the President himself and the staff at the White House have been focused on the critical priorities and the items on his agenda as the President of the United States.” Earnest gave no specific reason why the press was not allowed to cover the visit. His statement about the meet and greet:

"This afternoon, the president visited his re-election campaign hq in chicago for the first time. He was greeted by his campaign manager, Jim Messina - and his three deputy campaign managers: Jen O'Malley Dillon, Julianna Smoot and Stephanie Cutter.

He stood at one end of the large, open bullpen area at the center of the 6th floor of the bldg. He spoke for less than ten minutes to a few hundred members of his campaign staff. He talked about coming to Chicago for the first time as a young man and reminisced about the early days of his campaign for the senate. He both thanked his staffers for their hard works and encouraged them saying that he hoped to run :a campaign that embodies the values we're fighting for." On the way out, he shook many, many hands."

After the HQ visit, the President attended three different fundraisers before heading back to Washington, DC.

*Photo by Christopher Dilts/Obama for America