Traffic Jam Caused by Obama Fundraiser Big Even by LA Standards

(Aug. 17) -- Here's something President Barack Obama's political advisers missed when planning a fundraiser in west Los Angeles: Beware the power of unintended consequences.

Tight security for Obama's appearance in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood snarled traffic for hours Monday evening, and blocked residents from returning to their own neighborhoods -- many at the end of long work days, and with children picked up from day care centers. Local media reported incensed residents arguing with police, including one in the heavily Democratic neighborhood who yelled at officers that he wished he had voted for John McCain, Obama's 2008 Republican presidential rival.

US President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One upon his arrival at the Los Angeles International Airport.

Jewel Samd, AFP / Getty Images

President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One on his arrival at the Los Angeles International Airport on Aug. 16.

Twitter feeds, Facebook pages and even some Youtube videos flamed the president as residents complained about spending two hours or more to travel distances as short as five miles. The problem was exacerbated by the Secret Service's refusal to divulge traffic closures in advance as a security precaution for the president, several sites reported.

Ironically, the fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was hosted by John Wells, former executive producer of "The West Wing" television show, which in a May 2002 episode titled "Posse Comitatus" included a scene that had President Bartlet's advisers send his motorcade out to snarl Manhattan traffic to force a political rival to show up late for a theater event.