Political commentary from the LA Times

President Obama sets overnight swing through SoCal, 2 town halls

President Barack Obama makes a visit to his second foreign country this week.

After last month's quick trip to Canada and before a journey to Europe at month's end, Obama will make an overnight swing through the Los Angeles area Wednesday and Thursday.

It includes two town hall sessions, an appearance on Jay Leno's expiring "Tonight Show" and an electric visit to an ordinary car plant. Or is it an ordinary visit to an electric car plant?

Normally, so safely is the most populous state in the Democratic column, Southern California only sees Democratic candidates on money swings through the area at campaign time with the liberal glitterati set.

The president will arrive Wednesday afternoon aboard Air Force One at Long Beach airport and proceed directly to his first town hall session in Costa Mesa at the OC Fair and Event Center. Thursday, he'll take his expansive gasoline-driven motorcade to Pomona to see the Edison International Vehicle Electrics plant.

And then there's another town hall session scheduled for the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in LA. Somewhere along the way he'll do a taping in front of a live audience with Leno, who gives up his late-night NBC show to Conan O'Brien by mid-year. According to NBC, this will be the first time a sitting president has tucked the nation into bed on a late-night TV show. (UPDATE: It's not. Pres. John F. Kennedy was on NBC with Jack Paar previously.)

By late Thursday afternoon Pacific time the chief executive will be winging it back to the confining confines of the Beltway.

We'll have full coverage of the visit here on The Ticket, of course, including live-blogging of the town halls.