President Obama Arrives in Bay Area For Brief Fundraising Trip

President Barack Obama arrived at San Francisco International Airport Wednesday evening for a quick fundraising trip to the Bay Area.

Obama attended two events Wednesday night in San Francisco to raise money for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, followed by two events Thursday in Atherton on behalf of the Democratic National Committee before departing on Air Force One.

On Wednesday evening the president is headed to a cocktail reception at the Pacific Heights home of billionaire and former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor. He then attended a dinner at the nearby home of philanthropists Ann and Gordon Getty.

The events will raise money for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

A number of protesters planned to gather outside the Getty mansion, including a group opposing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would extend from Canada to Texas.

That group was to include members of the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity, 350, CREDO and other organizations.

They were to meet at Alta Plaza Park at Clay and Scott Streets at 5 p.m. Wednesday, then march to the Getty mansion on Broadway for a 5:30 p.m. rally.

Sarah Lane, a spokeswoman for CREDO, said organizers were expecting more than 1,000 people to attend -- many of whom are Obama supporters and donated to his campaign.

Environmentalists have raised concerns that the pipeline's existence would contribute to global warming because of greenhouse gas emissions from the process of extracting bitumen from Canadian tar sands.

Lane said of the president, "He made an inaugural promise to fight climate change, and a lot of the folks who support him believe that if he's to be taken seriously ... then he's going to reject the Keystone XL pipeline."

Today, Thursday, Obama will be in the Peninsula for two fundraisers to benefit the Democratic National Committee.

The first will be a $32,000-a-head brunch at the Atherton home of Liz Simons and Mark Heising.

The president will then visit the home of Marcia and John Goldman. The cheapest tickets to that event cost $1,000.

Activists opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, including the Raging Grannies, will also be in Atherton on Thursday, and plan to hold an 8:15 a.m. rally on Valparaiso Avenue, near Alameda de las Pulgas.

Other local groups have been holding rallies around the Bay Area this week to pressure Congress and Obama to push through a comprehensive immigration reform package.

Obama will take off from SFO Thursday afternoon. The president was last in the Bay Area during his re-election campaign in October.

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