After a quick overnight stay at the Claremont Resort & Spa, Vice President Joe Biden left the hotel this morning shortly after 10a.m. Biden had come in from New Mexico in the evening and was heading to an event in Oakland supporting Rep. Jerry McNerney, who represents the 11th Congressional District.
Biden came out of the hotel by the spa entrance and lingered to thank police and Secret Service personnel who had been working on security. A handful of people (including your Berkeleyside reporter) was kept about 100 feet away –although before the Vice President came out of the hotel it was possible to wander in and out of the entrance.
Before Biden got into his armored car, he gave a cheery wave to the onlookers, and shouted, “How are you all doing?”
As would be expected for the Vice President, there was a significant security presence. Pedestrians and cyclists were allowed up the drive, but the road was blocked to cars. In addition to Secret Service personnel, both Berkeley police and Alameda County sheriffs were out in force. The Alameda County bomb squad had sniffer dogs check the bushes along the Vice President’s route before his car left the Claremont.
