Obama touches down in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - President Obama arrived in Albuquerque late Wednesday night on his way from a commencement speech in Arizona to a town hall meeting in Rio Rancho on Thursday.

The president arrived at the Albuquerque Marriott shortly after midnight and will be heading to Rio Rancho High School for the 10 a.m. town hall focused on credit card reform and how the card companies treat consumers.

Earlier Wednesday audience members drawn from an online lottery lined up outside the high school to pick up their tickets for the event.

"I'm very impressed with him," Janice Cour said while picking up her ticket. "I just think it would be special to see him in person."

Obama's topic of consumer protection from credit card companies prompted Guy Watson to write an angry letter to the president about two weeks ago.

"I sent the letter off thinking, 'OK, I've done my thing,'" Guy Watson said. "Two days ago I got an e-mail from a person on the administration staff saying, 'You have a ticket waiting for you. Come to the meeting.

"I said I sure will."

David Montoya, chair of the Sandoval County Democratic Party, said he expects a crowd of at least 1,500 to get direct answers from the top.

David Montoya Sandoval co. Democratic party

"What better place than Rio Rancho, New Mexico, for the president to come and talk about real problems that are affecting real people?" Montoya said.

Classes will go on in the high school with a few security modifications for security purposes.

"We can't bring out backpacks," student Kendall Tanner said. "We can't really do anything without our backpacks at school."

Security will also keep protestors off the school grounds in designated areas to voice their concerns.

The Tea Party protesters rallying for less government spending have announced their intention to attend. So has a group of Albuquerque Public Schools educational assistants who say APS should be spending some of its federal stimulus money to keep EAs on the payroll.

"It's just to let the president know we are concerned about how the money is being spent and help us, please," Kathy Chavez, president of the Albuquerque Educational Assistants Association said.

For a while Wednesday night air space around Kirtland Air Force Base was closed until Air Force One was safely on the ground.

Obama flew in from Phoenix where he gave the commencement address at Arizona State University in Tempe.

An estimated 70,000 people braved bumper-to-bumper traffic, $20 parking, long lines and sweltering heat to attend the event at Sun Devil Stadium.

Obama told the crowd he and the university shared the same mission of opening the doors of opportunity for everyone.