Obama visit creates few ripples in Arcadia

"Is he gonna turn the switch, or what's he gonna do?"

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the five men in the coffee clatch at McDonald's were manning their usual stations. None planned to go to the Turner Center, where the president's helicopter was supposed to meet a motorcade of a dozen black Suburbans, white government SUVs and local police cars.

"He's gonna bless it," another man replied in jest. They didn't want to give their names, but the men weren't impressed that the president was visiting their town of 6,600 people.

"He ain't coming here anyway," said a sixth man who joined the group for a moment, then left.

True enough. Obama was in Arcadia all of an hour, then got back in a Suburban and was whisked out of the field of solar cells.

On Friday, the White House confirmed Obama was coming to Florida, but failed to mention that he wouldn't meet with the public, or that FP&L was allowing only the media and its own guests into the makeshift facility. The power company threw up two white tents to serve food and to house the White House correspondents.

First, everyone was searched and scanned. Photographers had to leave their expensive cameras and lenses, some worth tens of thousands of dollars, lying in the field until they could also be scanned and sniffed by a German shepherd.

At the Circle K earlier in the morning, customers waiting in line complained that U.S. 17 would be shut down part of the day, even though the president only used the road for a few minutes.

Along the highway, DeSoto County and Arcadia city police cars watched the intersections, blocking traffic with yellow police tape.

FP&L's facility was a mile east of U.S. 17, on an unmarked road. The only clue that this was the place to turn was a white crane with an American flag hanging from it.

About 100 law enforcement agents, 100 media and 100 invited guests watched Obama's brief speech.