Obama to visit Georgia

White House officials have been mostly vague about the itinerary other than to say Obama will attend an invitation-only tour of Savannah Technical College Tuesday morning. He also plans to make remarks there about the economy and creating jobs and then "make a series of local stops" in the Savannah area. They won’t say exactly why they picked Georgia’s oldest city, other than its residents “have been hit hard and know well the challenges that Americans are facing right now” — a criteria that could fit Anytown, USA.

Advance teams have fanned out across Savannah, taking suggestions from local officials and business leaders for backdrops, said Mayor Otis Johnson. His suggestions?

“Of course, the port,” Johnson responded. “And we have this beautiful historical center.”

He also said the White House is interested in YouthBuild, a federal stimulus-funded program that trains high school dropouts in building skills.

‘At an arm’s length’

Obama’s visit comes at a time when his poll numbers have sunk, unemployment levels have remained high and the two political parties are battling about health care, stimulus funds and every other issue imaginable. It’s not clear just who among Georgia politicians of either party might be on hand to take part in the tour’s photo ops except for U.S. Rep. John Barrow, a “Blue Dog Democrat” from Savannah. Barrow’s spokeswoman said he plans to attend.

Meanwhile, there seems to be tacit to little interest by Republican officials in attending the president’s first Georgia trip. Both U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, say they will be busy in Washington that day and unable to attend. Gov. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Savannah) are unsure if they’ll be on hand.

“A lot of politicians want to put [Obama] at an arm’s length,” the mayor said. “It’s tough to be a Democrat in Georgia these days, especially a white Democrat.”

State Sen. Lester Jackson, a member of the National Democratic Committee who was in Washington this month lobbying White House officials for a visit, said, “Savannah is a fantastic backdrop for the president. It’s good to see Savannah in that traditional blue-collar role with middle-class values. “This is strong Democratic territory. When he comes here he will feel at home.”

Obama carried Chatham County with 57 percent of the vote in 2008, despite losing in Georgia.

Jackson said he extolled the area’s port — “we export more than we import” — and the strong military presence in the area. Fort Stewart is in nearby Hinesville and Hunter Army Airfield is in Savannah. The city’s historic district is a tourism magnet, another theme that might be good for the president to draw upon.

Stimulus a key issue

Ed Pawlowski, mayor of Allentown, Obama’s first tour stop, said the president’s advance team takes suggestions from local leaders and then comes up with plans a day or so before the event.

Allentown, the subject of Billy Joel’s popular song about the fading Rust Belt, was used as a symbol of reinvention, the mayor said. The vast majority of workers there are now employed by small businesses, Pawlowski said. Obama toured Allentown Metal Works, an Alpo plant and downed a cheeseburger at the Hamilton Family Restaurant. The media dutifully snapped photos of Obama at the diner and then were shooed away.

He said he and the president, the owners of a cryogenics firm and a bakery, a veterinarian and a home builder sat at a table and conversed for more than an hour. “We had a substantial discussion,” Pawlowski said. “I actually think he’s listening and it may end up in policy.”

Savannah leaders will lobby the president for funds to deepen the port and for a $121 million highway project to connect the terminal in Garden City to the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway. The project did not receive stimulus funds this month when the administration announced funding for transportation projects.

The administration also riled Georgians in January when it announced the state had won only $750,000 from an $8 billion pool of stimulus grants for high-speed rail projects. Critics blamed it on Georgia’s past indifference to rail transit. Georgia’s Republican congressmen have been vocal in their criticism of the $787 billion stimulus program, and some believe the state has been punished as a result. But with $7.1 billion in federal stimulus funds awarded, the Peach State ranks 10th in the nation, according to statistics on recovery.gov. Meanwhile, Georgia is the ninth most-populous state.

‘Low-hanging fruit’

Congressman Kingston, a critic of the stimulus, has not decided whether he will attend the event Tuesday because the White House has not shared details about the president’s itinerary. “It is tricky for my politics,” Kingston said. “If he is coming to underscore a stimulus program that I am philosophically not in line with, it would certainly be awkward for us for me to be there.”

On the other hand, Kingston said, if Obama decides to highlight Fort Stewart and the troops based there, he would be glad to attend.

Whatever the reason for Obama’s visit, Savannah makes a perfect stop, said Robert Eisinger, dean of liberal arts at the Savannah College of Arts and Design and an author on the subject of presidential polling.

Savannah provides racial, ideological and geographical diversity, he said. “It’s a president’s job to go out and listen,” he said. “Every president must share his narratives with the American people. There’s an export story he can tell here, a manufacturing story and an education story.”

The number of photogenic settings, from the historic architecture to ancient live oaks to the expansive river views to a busy port all can help bring home whatever message Obama wants to make.

“Savannah is low-hanging fruit,” he said.