December 20, 2007

Barack hearts Sacramento (and Arnold?)

Or at least his campaign does.

The Illinois senator will become the first presidential candidate to open up a bricks-and-mortar campaign office in California's capital today.

The office will be located at 2015 Q Street, with an opening party tonight starting at 6 p.m. Among the hoi polloi set to attend: Sen. Dean Florez, City Councilman Kevin McCarty, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, former Sen. Deborah Ortiz and former San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker.

Dusty Baker?

In all, Erin Callahan, a Barack Obama spokeswoman, said the opening is expected to draw 150 to 200 people. Looking ahead, the office will be staffed by at least one paid employee, Callahan said, though the final number hasn't been ironed out yet "with so many states in play."

Mostly, there will be volunteers. "Sacramento is the best organized volunteer base in the state," Callahan said, led by Kim Mack, chair of Sacramento for Obama.

Meanwhile, Obama has been talking up his bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail, saying he would consider adding GOPers to an Obama White House cabinet.

One name: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "What (he’s) doing on climate change in California is very important and significant. There are things I don't agree with him on, but he's taken leadership on a very difficult issue and we haven't seen that kind of leadership in Washington," he told ABC News.

(Below's a photo from Obama's trip to Sacramento in August for a fundraiser.)

Photo Credit: Randall Benton, Sacramento Bee, August 2007

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on December 20, 2007 1:07 PM